


Signs

by Emmaficready



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Abuse, Domestic Violence, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-29
Updated: 2018-10-31
Packaged: 2019-06-17 22:38:28
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 23
Words: 39,922
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15471666
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Emmaficready/pseuds/Emmaficready
Summary: He saw the signs, even if nobody else did.





	1. Chapter 1

He'd seen the signs of course.

Growing up as he had he was intimately familiar with it.

He saw the jealously , the possessiveness and how quick he was to anger.

How he dominated the conversations, vainly steering them to things that he wanted to speak of.

Others may not have seen the signs , but he did.

So when he announced his departure and said his goodbyes, he shook her hand and her slightly wide eyed gaze as she met his eyes was the only reaction to the piece of paper that he subtly placed in her palm when he did so.

He'd seen the signs.

Which was why 8 months later he opened his front door to find a soaking wet Hermione Granger stood in the rain , heavily pregnant with blood dripping down her face.

He caught her as her knees buckled.

He supported her over to his sofa, when he saw the crumpled piece of paper held tightly in her hand.

It was faded and creased, as though it had been opened, read and folded again many times.

The words were blurred, like someone had repeatedly ran their fingers along them.

But still it was just about legible.

"Severus Snape lives at Spinners End, Cokeworth"

* * *

**AN : This will probably be a fairly short story , I imagine it ending under 40,000 words.**

**I also doubt it will be updated as often as my other two WIP stories.**

**It was just a fleeting thing that came into my head and demanded to be written down.**


	2. Chapter 2

She was in her pyjamas , or lounge wear.

A ratty old weasley jumper (one of Molly's knitted monstrosities) and a pair of white sweat pants.

Both were torn in places.

He'd not seen her since the day of the ministry ball when he'd handed her the paper with his secret kept address on it , without it she never would have found the house because of the fidelius charm.

She'd been in the paper on occasion for the first month or two after , and then pretty much disappeared. The focus more on Potter and Weasley.

He knew she'd made friends with Draco, she'd spent a lot of time talking to him at the ball. The boy had few friends since it had become public knowledge that he preferred the company of other men, but she'd even fallen out of contact with him a few months ago. The boy had been devastated.

Swearing, he grabbed a hanky and pressed it to the heavily bleeding wound on her head, encouraging her to keep the pressure on it.

He had been expecting something like this to happen , but wasn't prepared for the possibility of her being pregnant aswell.

She was holding the hankerchief to her head with one hand , and the other was cupping her stomach protectively.

Though he kept numerous healing potions stocked in his house at all times, he couldn't think of any that would be suitable for a pregnant witch.  
Most contained nightshade, Hemlock or some relative, which were known to cause miscarriages and bleeding even in small amounts.

Speaking of bleeding.

Blood continued to drip from her head-wound and with rising panic he noticed the blood that was beginning to darken the crotach of her lounge pants aswell.

"I'm taking you to Mungos"

"No"

Her word was final , and absolute but there was a slight lisp as she mumbled through her split lip.

He could understand her hesitation, she'd be all over the prophet tomorrow.

"I'll summon Poppy"

"No."

He hissed through his teeth , panicking slightly.

"Why not ?!"

"Molly's cousin"

 _Fuck._  He forgot that Molly was originally a Prewett , cousin to the Pompfreys. 

"I know nothing of obstetrics Granger , I don't know who to call"

She met his eye then , with the one that was not covered.

"I d-do"

He noticed that she didn't have her wand , and he made a quick scan for it.

"Where's your wand?"

"G-gone"

He raised his eyebrow at that, she'd apparated here wandlessly ? Apparating was not recommended for pregnant women as you risk splinching the child , but to do so wandlessly was a risk not many people would take at all , even he would not risk apparating wandlessly.  But that was a question for later.

Reaching forward he passed her his wand , handle first , something he'd offered to no person since he'd got it at Ollivanders.  
His wand was as foul tempered as him , and usually hexed anyone who tried to pick it up.

It  _hummed_  in her hands , as she managed to flick a weak patronus from it.

He tried not to react to the streaks of blood left on the handle , and how pale her skin looked around the dark wood.

He didn't get a chance to discern the shape of the patronus before it had shot off from the room , and she began to lurch forward.

Quickly grabbing his wand he pushed her up by her shoulder , using the other hand to press on hers on her head,

Her other hand still cupped her belly , and he could see that she was worried as she trembled in his grasp.

Soon after there was a crack of apparition behind him , and he was startled to see the last two people he would have expected her to summon.

 


	3. Chapter 3

Stood before him was Narcissa and Lucius Malfoy.

The desperate look that passed between Hermione and Narcissa was one he, nor any other male could ever hope to understand or comprehend.

He saw the pure distress in Hermione's eyes, and without a word being said, some form of primal female connection had Narcissa jumping to the side of Hermione and casting various diagnostics over her pregnant belly.

He heard a noise and saw Lucius's hand tightening on the head of his cane, as his jaw set.

Pureblood idealogies aside , Lucius adored his wife and had been raised to always show respect to women.

It was abhorrent to him to even consider the thought of striking his wife, or any woman.

Much like the female non verbal conversation between Narcissa and Hermione, He shared a look with the man , their own masculine code, one that promised vengeance and violence, and received an almost imperceptible nod in return.

Things were soon going to become very difficult indeed for one Ronald Weasley.

There was a gasp of relief from the sofa as Hermione bowed her head and let the tears fall , nodding to something Narcissa had said.

When Narcissa stood and came over to him , the stern look on her face could envy Minerva's best.

"The baby is fine , use mild healing spells for now, until you can brew some pregnancy safe potions"

"But the bleeding ..."

"...Is not the baby"

His jaw clenched and heard a snap from the side of him. Seems Lucius would be needing a new cane.

"I see" Though he wished he didn't.

Another look between the three of them this time.

There would be repercussions for this.

"She's staying with you ?"

She needn't have asked the question , but he nodded curtly anyway.

"She'll want to bathe , and clean clothes. Give her something old of yours and burn what she's wearing , she won't want them again"

He nodded again and heard a ping as his glass tumbler on his table cracked with the pressure of magic he was exuding.

Lucius and Narcissa left.

Narcissa with promises to return the next evening with Draco to check in on them.

Lucius with a promise in his eyes that they would soon have a chat over firewhiskey. They had planning to do.

When they'd gone , he returned to the broken girl on his sofa, only one thought in his mind.

Where the hell do I go from here ?


	4. Chapter 4

The girl was still crying softly.

Though she was quiet enough that she made no sound that he could discern , a habit she must've learned that made his blood boil , he could see her shoulders shaking as her breath hitched with her grief.

He carefully raised his hand to her head, where she was still pressing the hanky.

She lifted watery eyes to his at his action, and he offered what he hoped was a reassuring look. He wasn't exactly practised in them.

Carefully he cast a gentle healing charm , enough to stem the blood flow a little.

Until he had time to research what was safe to use on a pregnant witch , he didn't want to cast anything too invasive.

Gently he removed the hanky , and they both winced when it stuck a little to the blood on her skin.

"I need to get you cleaned up, before I can begin to heal you"

She nodded in acceptance.

"Are you able to walk up stairs if I assist you ?"

She offered a curt nod , and he helped her stand.

Only to quickly grab her as her legs gave out under her.

She was shaking in his arms. He felt violently ill.

"Miss Granger"

"..not my n-name anymore"

He supposed it wasn't.

But he'd be damned before he called her Mrs Weasley.

"Hermione then ?"

She nodded, so he continued.

"Hermione , may I have your permission to carry you to the bathroom? I do not wish to aggravate your injuries, nor do I want to risk you falling"

"s'fine b-but too heavy"

He tsked at that and lifted her with ease.

Despite the baby belly she was all skin and bone , nowhere near what she had been or should be.

She'd tensed when he first picked her up but relaxed when he began to move towards the bathroom.

Placing her on the closed toilet he began to run a bath, along with a sink full of warm water.

There was a crack of apparition downstairs and the girl flinched visibly and remained tense until they heard Narcissa shouting his name.

* * *

He strode downstairs to find Narcissa stood primly in the centre of his living room holding a small  _muggle_  plastic carrier bag.  _How times changed._

"I know I said I'd be back tomorrow , but then I remembered how appalling you are at transfiguration , so I brought a few things"

His face lit up red, both at the reminder of his terrible transfiguration skills and when Narcissa reached into the bag and placed a new pair of womens knickers in his hands.

"R-right...uh...thanks"

Followed by a bra.

"G-great"

and then...  _bloody hell was she trying to make him die of embarrassment._

"I appreciate your thoroughness Narcissa, but the woman's pregnant I doubt she will be needing any of these female products for many months yet"

Her stoic face softened in sadness.

"I know Severus, but she's still  _bleeding_."

His jaw clenched as anger surged through him at the reminder. Still he felt so wrongfooted and unsure.

"I don't know what to do Cissy"

"Just look after her Severus , I'm sure you can do that"

"I think you'd do it better"

Her eyebrow rose.

"Are you saying you don't want to care for the girl ?"

"No of course not, I'd do anything in my power to help her and she's welcome to stay as long as she needs but..."

"But?"

"But she's been hurt , not just physically but in the worst possible way a man could hurt her , surely she'd be more comfortable with you or any woman healing and helping her ?"

Narcissa placed a calming hand on his arm.

"I offered Severus, she wanted to stay with you."

His shocked eyes snapped up to hers and she smiled sadly.

"Just take it at her pace , don't force anything , let her make the decisions about what happens and when, it's important for her to feel in control"

He nodded to the advice before he spoke softly.

"Narcissa , something like what happened to Hermione, happened to you didn't it ?"

The witch froze for a moment, before she inclined her head shortly.

"Something like it , yes."

"Is it resolved?"

The word was growled , and she did not miss the the way his knuckles gripped tighter on what he was holding.

"It's resolved,  _permanantly_."

He nodded sharply.

"As Hermione's situation will also be  _resolved_  soon ,I'd wager ?"

A vicious glare met hers.

"Most definitely , the situation will be  _thoroughly_  resolved, I intend to  _take my time_ to ensure it is also very  _permanent_ "

"My husband and I will be glad to assist"

He thanked and bowed to Narcissa and she apparated away.

* * *

Remembering Narcissa's words as he scaled the stairs, he went into his bedroom and found an old Slytherin quidditch jumper from his time as a student , as Narcissa had only brought underthings.

He fought a blush as he placed the underwear as well as the hygeine items on top of the jumper, beside her.

Her face dropped when she saw them, but said nothing.

He spoke as he wet his hankerchief in the sink

"I apologise for the Jumper, it's from my youth as I'm afraid my dress shirts may bury you, Narcissa brought the rest"

"t-thank you"

He began to gently cleanse her face of blood with the damp handkerchief.

"Tomorrow I will brew some safe potions , how far along are you ?"

"6 m-months"

He frowned at that, he thought she'd been further along but he was now realising she had so little weight on her , it exaggerated the baby bump and made her look further along than she was.

"Are there any prenatal potions you require ?"

"d-don't know"

"Has your healer not given you any instructions or prescriptions ?"

Suddenly her eyes dropped to the floor and a thought occurred to him.

"Have you seen a healer since you became pregnant?"

Still not meeting his eyes, she shook her head no.

"I see...you're aware of the dangers of pregnancy , the risks you could be undertaking by not getting checked by a physician at regular intervals ?"

This time she nodded , and he frowned.

It would not be like her to endanger  _any_  living thing knowingly, let alone her own flesh and blood.

Then a sickening thought occurred to him.

"Was it by your choice that you did not see a healer?"

That garnered another no.

"Indeed"

"n-not allowed"

Slowly. He was going to kill the boy very  _slowly._

* * *

**_AN : Sorry it's a short one again , this will probably have much shorter chapters, but I plan to update pretty frequently_ **


	5. Chapter 5

Once her face was mostly cleansed of blood he could begin to see the damage more clearly.

She had a large laceration on her forehead, the one that had been bleeding so deeply.

There was another laceration on her lip , which was causing her to mumble and it looked like she had two shiners coming aswell, and to top it off her nose was broken.

All this just on her face.

He held back his anger , though it was difficult.

"There is no pregnancy safe version of bruise paste , so I'm afraid the shiners will have to stay"

She simply nodded in acknowlegement.

"but if you would allow it I would like to fix your nose now ? It is broken , and unless you'd like a one as crooked as my own, you need it to be reset to heal properly"

She looked to the floor , but nodded once more.

He noticed that when he'd knelt in front of her to clean her face, she'd held onto his left hand and had yet to let go.

"Again , the skelegro is not pregnancy safe, so we can realign it , but it will have to heal at its own speed"

He was worried at her lack of responce , it was as if all the fire had gone from her, and that alone was a crime he could not forgive.

Deciding to take a Narcissa's advice he gave her hand a squeeze and put his other on top of it.

"What would you prefer to do first ? I can heal the cuts , or realign your nose , it's your choice"

For a moment he thought she would not answer, then there came a tentative

"Nose please"

He smiled softly, just a mere quirk of his lip really , and stroked her hand once more before letting it go.

"Of course , I'm going to raise my wand on you Hermione if that's alright, I could do it wandlessly if you prefer but this would be more accurate"

"s'fine"

He raised his wand in his right hand, and her eyes squeezed shut as her hand squeezed his left.

She was tensed for the pain , so he decided to quickly get it over with non verbally.

He swished his wand and his gut clenched at the crunch of bone.

She cried out and brought her hand to cover her face, only to yelp at the soreness and move it away again.

"I apologise for the discomfort, I will brew you a safe pain potion tomorrow"

Shivering she nodded as he heard her breath hitching as she fought sobs.

"Now , may I attend to the cuts on your face, or would you prefer to wait a while longer?"

Seemingly taking a moment to compose herself , she managed to answer.

"F-finish , p-please"

He nodded to her.

He didn't want to make it look as though he was offering his hand back to her , he had his reputation to think of after all, but he placed it on her knee and was silently thrilled when she cautiously took it in her own hand once more.

Once more he warned her before he raised his wand , and then murmured the healing incantations softly once he'd had her permission to do so.

He was only using simple and gentle spells, as he didn't want her body to react to his magic in a negative way if it was too invasive.

It would speed up the healing of the cuts , but not heal them entirely.

If any of them left a permanent scar , he would be extremely angry.

* * *

Once he had done as much healing as he could , he moved to take her other hand as he spoke to her.

"Is there any other injuries that I can help you with, before I leave you for your bath"

She seemed to consider it for a moment, she even went to bite her lip, then winced and reconsidered.

After a moment she pulled her hands from his and he was about to take that as a no , when she turned them palm side up on her lap.

"Your hands ?"

She nodded.

He hadn't realised her hands were hurt , they were covered in blood of course but he'd assumed it was from the head wound.

Grasping the hanky once more, he wet it in the sink before kneeling by her once more.

Gently he cradled her hand in his much larger one.

"If I may ?"

She acquiesced so he began to clean her hands, uncovering her palms which were so roughly scratched they were almost shredded.

He hissed through his teeth as he was looking at the deep gashes.

She shivered.

"I apologise , I did not mean to upset you"

She simply shook her head and signalled for him to carry on.

Applying the gentle healing charms, he was angry at what could have caused them.

"They will be sore for a few days , but the wounds are closed now , is there anywhere else?"

She was looking away from him but she nodded once more and held up 3 fingers.

"Three more things ?" He questioned and she nodded.

"Would it be alright for you to show me?"

She gently moved her foot forward and he glanced downwards.

She was barefoot , and he noticed one foot was bloody.

"Would it be allright if I lift this foot into my lap, so that I can see better ?"

She nodded tearfully and he gently raised the leg until her foot was in his lap , when she gasped and flinched with pain at the motion he apologised.

Gentling examining her foot he washed off the blood , leaving behind a very swollen and bruised ankle , with a few very unmistakable marks.

He held back a growl.

The bruising was from the tread of a boot, a swift kick had done this damage to the inside of her ankle.

"Can you move it?"

She nodded reluctantly and her voice was soft when she spoke.

"Yes, but it hurts"

He ran his hand over the ankle , gently pressing and she gasped in pain.

"I'm sorry , may I run a diagnostic on you ?"

She nodded with tears in her eyes , as she grit her teeth against the pain.

Waving his wand he scanned her foot, then winced in sympathy.

"There's a hairline fracture of the ankle , there's not much we can do other than keep you off your feet while it heals and give you pain relief"

He replaced her foot on the floor.

"I will also look into the right type of bandage to offer some support"

"Thank you"

He nodded curtly

"What is next?"

She looked down and away from him and gestured to her shoulder.

"May I look?"

She nodded but would not look at him.

He stood , but could not see anything because of her shirt.

"Would you pull this to the side a little, so that I can see"

Her breath was coming in deep gulps now , but she finally held her breath and pulled the shirt neck to one side.

His growl could not be contained.

_"That fucking animal"_

She was shivering and he instantly apologised.

"I am sorry for my outburst Hermione , but it enrages me to see what he has done "

She simply nodded once more but would not look at him.

The bastard had bitten her. Hard.

Hard enough to break the skin , and cause a large angry purple contusion around it.

"This needs to be disinfected"

Summoning a vial of dittany he held it in front of her.

"Pure Dittany is not safe for pregnant women, I propose to dilute a small amount on a washcloth to clean the area of the wound..."

She met his eyes and cupped her stomach, he understood.

"There will be a very slight risk even with such a small amount of diluted dittany, however I am more concerned about the risk of bacteria or infection from the mouth that could have gotten into the wound"

She gulped but after a moment nodded.

"You're sure ?" He asked and once again she nodded ,though more decisively this time.

"Yes"

He dropped a couple of drops of dittany on the washcloth and began to clean the wound.

The dittany caused the wound, and Hermione , to hiss.

It began to seal , but did not heal completely, but he was glad the risk of infection was no more.

Once more he came to kneel before her.

It was a conscious decision on his part.

He'd often used his size to intimidate people , now all he wanted to do was appear smaller and less of a threat.

"And that last thing?"

She dropped her chin to her chest and shuddered , as she reached for the hem of her shirt.

Her shaking increased.

So he placed his hands on top of hers.

"Please, do not push yourself to do anything you do not wish to do"

Shaking her head she steeled herself once more.

"Brave little gryffindor" he whispered and she almost smiled at him, before it was lost in a look of worry.

She turned away as she lifted the shirt up just enough to see the swell of her stomach.

Like her palms it was scratched and bloody.

He grit his teeth as the image formed in his mind , adding up her injuries.

God he wanted to tear the little bastard apart.

"May I cast on you Hermione, to heal you as before"

She met his eyes and nodded

Casting the spells as delicately and accurately as he could , he began cleaning her wound of the pieces of grit that he'd also found in her palms, and slowly sealing the wounds.

 _How could the bastard do this ? It was bad enough to hurt the girl , but to endanger a child this way? his own child ?_  The thought made him sick.

Once he had done as much as he could , he signalled to her that she could pull her top down, which she did.

"Before I leave you for your bath , is there anything else I can do?"

Then a thought entered his head and he fought a blush

"Will you need my assistance to get into and out of the bath ? With your ankle, I do not wish for you to hurt yourself"

She was blushing too and looking down at her clothes , which she worried between her hands.

It was clear she was torn between the need to cover herself up , and her need to remove the soiled clothes.

Speaking softly he addressed her.

"I was head of house for many years Hermione, with a lot of young women entrusted into my care. I've dealt with girls in varying states of undress, that have been attacked by their boyfriends, had pranks gone wrong, and even slips and falls in the showers...I can assure you that I would not do anything to make you uncomfortable, I just want to help"

Her rand reached out and touched his.

"It's not you...I-I trust you, really I d-do"

Stroking her hand with his he gently replied.

"Then what is it ?"

Her reply was quiet and broken

"me"

"What about you ?"

She wouldn't look at him.

But didn't let go of his hand.

"Tell me ? Please"

It was probably the please that did it , he didn't say it often.

Her soft spoken reply made him see red.

"Because I'm fat and ugly like this"

* * *

**AN: Thank you readers, please review :)**


	6. Chapter 6

He heard the pipes groaning at the pressure his magic was exuding.

There were tears running down the girls face and she wouldn't look at him.

It took all of his occlumency skills to contain his emotions , and not to apparate out of the room and tear the little cretin apart.

"Is that what he told you ?" he seethed.

"S'true"

"Horse shit!"

She jumped at his tone and he immediately apologised.

He knelt close to her, taking both her hands in his and spoke softly.

"Whatever vile things he has said to you , do not believe a word of it... He's said it to belittle you, there is no truth in them"

"But there is " She whimpered

"Like what ?"

"I...I'm fat, and my b-body is gross and I have scars, and stretch marks and my boobs are different and I look horrible..."

Her face was flushed in embarrassment and shame at her outburst but he cut her off there, not willing to let her get herself worked up any further.

"Listen to me Hermione, because I'm only going to say this once. Nothing of what you said makes you fat or ugly"

She went to protest but he cut her off.

"You're pregnant , your body will change , you're carrying a whole other life inside you and all those changes that go with it are beautiful , just like you are, regardless of what that cretin has said to you...You're emotional from the hormones no doubt , and he's been wearing you down for even longer, he's praying on your weaknesses to get you to submit to him, he's a bully and a worthless thug , do you understand me"

Sniffling she nodded but gave him a small tearful smile.

"As for scars , we all have them, some worse than others"

At that he pulled the collar of his shirt to the side, to show the monstrous scars from Nagini.

"But our scars make us who we are , show us that we are survivors, that whatever it was, it didn't beat us and we are still here"

She reached out a tentative hand that traced the scars at his neck , he allowed it even though the intense sensation was rippling through him.

Summoning another hanky he wiped away her tears and she smiled at him.

"So here's how it's going to go. You're going to have a bath and we're going to burn these clothes , and you can wear these tonight"

He gestured to the pile on the side of the sink.

"If you'd rather not undress with me here , I understand that and I accept your choice, so here..."

He summoned a table to stand at the side of the bath , and picked her up in his arms.

He placed her in the bath fully dressed , and then handed her his wand, much to her shock.

"I'm going to leave this with you , when I am gone banish your clothing , or if you'd prefer make a pile and we'll burn them"

Trembling she was still looking at his wand in shock.

"When you're finished, summon the items from over there and get yourself dressed, then call for me and I carry you out of the tub"

She nodded finally looking into his eyes with a look that nearly broke his heart.

"Tomorrow, I am going to take you to a Muggle Clinic...to asses your  _other_  injuries , I have a squib friend who works there"

The trembling began again but she just dropped her head an nodded.

He placed a calming hand on her shoulder.

"I know that is something you would rather avoid , but I think it is for the best that you be seen by a doctor, especially with the pregnancy , we can get them to check the baby is developing alright aswell and see if there's anything specific you need"

She swallowed and answered him.

"You're right" she whispered " I d-don't want to , but it's not j-just me anymore is it?"

"No , you've got you're little cub there to think of , and for what it's worth, it's not you alone anymore, the both of you have me for as long as you require"

Wiping her tears she placed her hand on his , and looked at him.

"Thank you...Severus?"

He nodded to confirm she could use his first name , and he got the first real smile from her.

* * *

Pacing in his bedroom he fought the fury within him.

The little fucking cretin was going to die, that was for certain.

But he was going to make it last.

This was going to be a long game , and the bastard wouldn't know what hit him until it was too late.

* * *

When he heard her cautiously call his name , he went in to get her.

She'd managed to get out of the bath on her own, and was sat on the edge of it .

All she was wearing was underwear and his Slytherin jumper.

The pack of female products was open and on the side of his sink.

As soon as he approached she handed him his wand, handle first and thanked him.

"Don't give it back just yet...Are you alright to sleep as you are ? I can give you some sweats to sleep in but you would have to transfigure them to your size , as I'm afraid it is not a field in which I excel"

The Jumper came down past her thighs but she nodded anyway.

"Would you like me to summon them now , or are you alright for me to carry you into the bedroom now?"

"I'm fine " She said softly and he nodded before he gently picked her up , and carried her into the bedroom.

Placing her down so she was seated on the edge of the bed, he summoned a pair of black sweat pants.

He knelt on the floor and helped her get her legs in them, then stood up so he could support her while she stood.

As he thought they weren't quite big enough with her belly so she had to transfigure them slightly to fit.

"Would you like something to drink or to eat before you retire for the night Hermione ? I have soup or cereal, but I shall have to go shopping tomorrow as I'm afraid I do not carry much in"

She bit her lip and could tell she wanted to ask for something but daren't.

"What is it? it's no bother, truly"

"J-just a hot drink please?"

She looked so nervous just asking that, it broke his heart.

"Of course , or would you prefer hot chocolate ?"

Her eyes lit up at that and he chuckled.

"Hot chocolate then ?"

She bit her lip and nodded.

* * *

When he returned with the hot chocolate , and a mug for himself , she hadn't moved from where he left her.

She thanked him for the drink and the look of rapture on her face when she sipped hers was making him smile , albeit hidden behind his own mug.

It seemed she found some comfort in touching him , as once more when he'd sat next to her to drink his chocolate she'd held onto his other hand like she had in the bathroom.

When they'd both finished he banished the mugs downstairs.

He made a point of leaving his wand on the bedside table.

"I shall leave you to your repose , I will be downstairs on the sofa should you require me"

He went to get up and she whimpered and grabbed his hand tighter.

"Please!"

Freezing he turned to her panicked face.

"Shh it's alright , what do you need"

"Please, Severus" She was crying, shoulders shaking.

"What do you need?" He knelt in front of her and gently cupped her cheek.

"Please stay"


	7. Chapter 7

He hadn't expected her to want him to stay , be he consented nonetheless.

With the pregnancy hormones and stress of the day, her emotions were running wild and the last thing he wanted was to add to her stress.

"Of course I will stay , if you wish it ?"

She nodded gratefully , and laid back on the bed with a wince before pulling the sheets back for him.

"Would you prefer me to summon a chair ? I can stay in the room without staying in the bed. I do not wish to make you uncomfortable"

Shaking her head, she gave him the wand from the bedside table as she spoke.

"No thank you , I'd l-like you to stay here if that's ok?"

"Of course , though I have to admit I'm surprised" He said with a raised eyebrow.

Looking down and not meeting his gaze , she spoke softly.

"You make me feel safe Severus"

His expression softened at that.

Of course she'd want to feel safe after everything she's been through.

"Very well" He summoned some clothes from his dresser.

"I will be back in a moment" and he went to change in the bathroom.

Returning in clean sweat pants and a shirt , he climbed into the bed where she gestured.

To his surprise she moved a little closer to him. He wasn't holding her , but their legs were touching.

Despite the situation , a part of him wondered at how right it felt to have her here.

* * *

She couldn't sleep straight away , no surprise really.

He couldn't sleep either, his mind constantly on the girl in his bed and the baby in her belly.

A thought occurred to him , and he almost dismissed it , when like it was fated she turned on her side to face him.

"Severus?"

"Yes ?"

Her eyes teared up and her voice choked when she answered.

"What if there's something wrong with the baby?"

"What do you mean Hermione, why would there be something wrong ?"

It was like the floodgates had opened as she tearfully spoke to him.

"Because I've been such a bad mother"

"Don't be daft"

"No! I have ! I've not been to see a healer and I'm not taking any potions , I'm not eating what I should be, The baby's never even... and I apparated here Severus , You know you're not supposed to apparate pregnant but I just panicked and I..."

Her small body was wracked with sobs and he pulled her closer to him.

"Nothing will be wrong Hermione , nothing at all"

His voice was certain and held no trace of doubt as he assured her, though secretly he only hoped he was right.

"And what if there is ? " She mumbled into his chest , as he was now holding her.

"Then we shall deal with whatever comes... will you love it all the same?"

"Of course!" Her responce was instant , and so was his. "Then it changes nothing, I shall be here for both of you as I said before, for as long as you both need me"

She smiled and threw her arms tighter around him , pressing her head into his chest. He held her and rubbed her back.

" I am serious about one thing though Hermione , the  _father"_  He spat the word "Will not be a part of their life , in any form. I would sooner raise this child myself than allow that piece of scum anywhere near you or the child again. "

Her shocked gaze was the first thing he noted , when he suddenly realised how that could have sounded to her.

"Forgive me, I have no right to.."

"You have every right"

His words died off as he looked at her.

"Severus in this one night, you've done more for me and the baby than he's done the entire time I've been pregnant. You took me in out of the blue , you've given me and the baby a safe place to stay indefinitely , you healed me and tomorrow you are making potions for me and taking me to see an obstetrician... in the past few hours you've taken so many steps for our wellbeing , when the _father_  is the one who put us in these dire straits. Of course you're well within your rights to tell me to stay away , and I have no intention of ever going near him again, not after...not after..."

Her voice broke and she cupped her belly gently.

"I never thought he'd...he's hurt me before but not ... I never thought he'd risk hurting the baby , not like that"

Pulling her close , It seemed now would be as good a time as any to bring up his idea.

"Hermione, I would like to try something...for the baby"

Wiping her eyes , her amber gaze met his as she spoke softly to him.

"What do you mean?"

" I would like to gift the baby some of my magic, my strength...I have excess energy that I shall not need tonight and by morning I shall be recovered anyway"

Her eyes were wide as she took in his words.

"Severus...that's...that's"

Trying not to look crestfallen,  _of course she doesn't want your magic violating her_ , he quickly added.

"It's alright Hermione, I can understand if you would not want my magic on your person, I can understand if it would make you uncomfortable"

"No Severus, I meant that's such a wonderful thing to offer, but it's so...intimate, are you sure you want to share your magic, your strength , with me and with a baby that's not yours? You've already done so much for us"

"I would not have offered if I was not serious"

She bit her lip and looked back to him.

"Thank You Severus , I can't tell you what it means to me"

"You'll allow me then ?"

"Yes, I will accept this wonderful gift you're offering my child Severus, thank you, you really are a hero aren't you?"

Trying not to blush at her look , he gestured for her to move back slightly.

She complied and he spoke softly.

"I will need to...that is I need skin contact for this to work , and to be the closer to the baby the better"

Nodding she lifted her shirt enough to expose her belly, and he shuffled lower so that he was facing her belly.

In all his healing of her he hadn't actually touched her belly.

"You should feel warmth , maybe a bit of pins and needles , but not too much as the energy will be focused on going mostly to the baby directly"

"With your permission?" At her nod he gently placed his hands palm down on her belly and focused on sharing his strength with the little life there.

As he was focusing all his energy on the life beneath his palm , he concentrated on sharing whatever energy and magic he could spare to give to the small life growing there.

He gave everything he could , thankful that he had strong blood wards around his home , knowing he would not need to expel any more energy to keep them safe before sleeping tonight.

"Severus...You're giving to much..."

He shook his head and continued sharing his strength with her and the baby.

Severus was a natural legillimens , he'd been born with the ability and as this was the first time he'd been so close to a pregnant woman , he was surprised to sense the vague tendrils of consciousness , seemingly reaching out to him curiously beneath his palm.

With a gasp he realised that he was feeling the baby's emotions, and though he knew that the child was not anywhere near developed enough to understand yet He silently and unbeknown to Hermione, pushed forward his emotions and intent along with his strength to the baby.

 _I am a friend, Please accept my gift ,I will not hurt you , I will never allow you or your mother to be hurt again I swear it , your mother loves you and I will protect you both I promise , you will only know your mothers love , you will not grow as I did, the man that sired you will never be allowed to hurt you, you will only ever be surrounded by love, you will not go without anything, on my magic_ "...I swear it."

He spoke the last words out loud, realising he was reaching the last of his reserves he'd made to pull back only to gasp in fear as Hermione grabbed his wrists and let out a scream.

"OH MY GOD SEVERUS DON'T MOVE"

He couldn't have moved if he wanted to , between Hermione's vice grip on his hands and his own paralysing fear he was stuck.

_God her stomach was rolling , was her body or the baby rejecting his dirty magic ? God was she going to lose the baby because of him ?_

He felt sick until he felt Hermione's hands moving his and her choked voice tearfully exclaimed

"Severus, do you feel that ?"

"Yes...I...what did I do..."

Still panicking he was about to grab her and take her to Mungos when he felt it again and she sobbed out a laugh...  _what, why was she laughing, was she hysterical._

"They've never... I always thought there was something wrong because they never did it before..."

Just as he was about to question her sanity he felt the motion again and again.

Then the consciousness connected with him once more , only stronger this time...figuratively speaking if they had been shaking hands before , this was a hug.

He felt warmth and affection flow through the bond as he felt the movement again , bigger and more frequent under his hand.

"Severus...the baby's kicking...for the first time ever, I think they like you and wanted to thank you"

* * *

**AN: Hey guys, if you're liking this story please leave me a review :)**


	8. Chapter 8

**_AUTHORS NOTE -_ ** I APOLOGISE IF YOU GOT LOADS OF CRAZY NOTIFICATIONS , SOMEONE ON FFN POINTED OUT TO ME THAT'D I'D MISSED  A CHAPTER OUT HERE ON AO3 , SO IF YOU'RE ONLY READING THIS STORY HERE **, YOU NEED TO GO BACK AND READ CHAPTER 4 AS YOU MISSED IT THE FIRST TIME ROUND !**

SORRY GUYS , THAT WAS MY BAD.

WE'RE NOW ALL BACK IN ORDER .

* * *

 

_Kicking ? The baby was Kicking ? For him ? They liked him ?_

_Wait a second..._

"They?...twins?" he questioned with a raised eyebrow as he relaxed his hands on her belly now his panic had abated.

She blushed.

"No...at least, God I don't think so..could be octuplets for all I know , but I'm pretty sure it's baby, Singular... I don't even know if the baby's a boy or a girl and I can't stand to say "It" , so I just sort of settled for they despite the bad grammar..."

He was fascinated by the movement under his palm and when she spoke he felt a pang of affection through legillimency.

"Your little lion cub likes your voice , I can feel it...legillimency" he whispered in awe of the fluttering below his hand.

Suddenly there was a much more definite movement as he spoke, she placed her hands gently atop his.

"Cub , I like that ... I don't need legillimency to tell that It seems Cub likes your voice too Severus "

They stayed that way for a long time until she spoke softly to him.

"Severus...can you tell through legillimency if cub's a boy or a girl ?"

"No I cannot , just feel...not thoughts exactly , but vestiges of emotion maybe ?"

With a tremor in her voice she asked carefully.

"And me? How does cub feel about me ? Hate or resentment or..."

"Shhh..." He wrapped her in his arms and pulled her close as he could, with the swell of her belly between them.

"Cub loves you , I could feel the affection for you when you spoke"

He was gifted with another watery smile before she rested her head on his chest and hugged him , he returned the embrace gently.

"Is this alright ? " She whispered into his chest and he just nodded , hooking her head under his chin.

He'd never just held a witch before , and it simply felt right to have this witch in his arms.

He hadn't realised he was still cupping her stomach reverently and protectively until she spoke.

"Cub likes you too Severus , I can feel it when your hands are on my belly"

"Sorry , I should not take such liberties..." He went to move his hand away but she held him still.

"Please, if you want to that is , please stay. Me and Cub don't mind, you make us both feel safe"

He simply nodded and continued to stroke and cup her belly with one hand as his other held her close.

Soon the movement settled under his hand , and Hermione settled along with it and both witch and baby were asleep in his arms.

In that moment something went through Severus that he could not fully understand. It was something primal , something utterly male. Possessive and paternal.

In a moment of clarity he understood perfectly that these two lives , were  _his._

They were his to cherish, his to care for , his to protect. He would build a home for them and provide for them.

He would shield them from any that would do them harm , and most importantly he would make them both happy.

His chest puffed out in a purely male way as he buried is head in her hair and inhaled deeply as he memorised the scent.

He opened his mind and his magic , and felt hers and the baby's. Commiting it to memory, their magic, their feel, their signature. The very essence of them.

He didn't know how he knew it , but he just did.

They were  _his._

Pulling them closer , he closed his eyes and slept soundly for the first time he could remember.

* * *

She was nervous the next day when they prepared to go for the clinic , though Severus could hardly blame her.

He'd got up early and brewed the pregnancy safe pain relief and a few prenatal potions he could find the recipes for , he wasn't sure which she'd need but they were fairly simple so had brewed batches of each in preparation.

When his charm went off to say she was awake he'd carried her to the bathroom and then returned to carry her downstairs.

He's placed her at the table and put a plate of breakfast in front of her with the command to eat.

She'd picked at it , and he'd frowned but she'd claimed nerves for the day so he'd let it lie for now.

While she was using his wand to shrink an old muggle coat of his, he'd owled Narcissa and asked to put off visiting for a day or two, until Hermione was more settled as he did not wish to overwhelm her.

He'd owled Lucius for an entirely different reason. Later that day an inebriated Weasley was going to turn up to work , and end up on workplace probabtion. Conveniently he'd also be photographed by the prophet drunk on his way to work  _Pity that._

She was still wearing his clothes , a pair of black sweat pants and a old Slytherin Jumper. He'd offered her the choice of his wardrobe for more clothes but she'd declined and chosen instead to cast a cleansing charm on what she was wearing.

Picking her up once more he apparated them to the alley behind the clinic , and was met by his friend Matthias who was waiting with a wheelchair.

"Do we need to X ray that ankle?" He spoke softly and quietly , he was well-spoken and polite and had an easy smile that helped Hermione relax.

"No , I have confirmed the hairline fracture but I would refer to your judgement about bandaging."

"I'd prefer to cast it for the stability to be honest , I can get a nurse to do that for you and as long as you use a water repellant charm in the bath you should be fine, then you can remove it yourselves in a few weeks."

He nodded his consent and Hermione quietly agreed.

When they were safely ensconced in a private examination room , her anxiety skyrocketed and he had to stroke her back and encourage her to take deep breaths lest she end up in a full blown panic attack.

She was shaking and had her arms wrapped around her belly, as though attempting to shield the baby, the baby sensing her distress had begun kicking and she winced when she got a good jab in the kidney.

He knelt beside her and placed a hand on hers. "I know this is difficult for you Hermione, but try to remain as calm as you can, the anxiety is not good for your cub"

Said cub quieted when hearing his voice and Hermione tearfully nodded, placing her other hand on his .

"Can you lift her onto the bed Sev ? " He nodded and easily scooped her up and placed her on the bed.

Matthias passed her a sheet to cover herself with and gently told her to strip from the waist down.

"I understand you may have some injuries that we need to assess, before we can move on to the baby ?"

She tearfully nodded and did as he asked, but did not speak.

"You're entitled to have a female nurse present while I conduct the exam , would you like me to bring one for you?"

She shook her head no and he gave her a sad nod before turning to Severus.

"You can wait outside, or if Hermione would like for you to stay , there's a seat at the other-side of this privacy curtain"

"The lady wishes" He said softly to Hermione and she bit her lip before asking him to stay.

Taking a seat in the blue hard plastic chair , he could hear their voices but see nothing, and what he heard made his anger spike in his veins.

Matthias spoke to her as he was examining her , asked her questions about her current and past injuries.

He listened as she spoke of the numerous times the boy had been "rough" with her. She refused to call it rape, because he was her husband.

Mentally he eviscerated the boy , as he heard that she would need stitches both internal and external, and that she had internal scarring from previously healed injuries, but it would not affect her.

His fingers dug into the arms as when her exam and treatment was over, the doctor asked of any injuries she may have sustained but attempted to heal herself in the past.

Her next tearful admission had her breaking into sobs afterwards , and asking for him.

Seems a couple of months ago the boy had turned up drunk and had been pushing for sex but she'd been spotting slightly and having what turned out to be braxton hicks contractions. At the time she'd not known they were braxton hicks and had been stressed and tearful thinking she was miscarrying and most definitely did not want to participate in any intimate activities. He'd lewdly suggested other ways he could take her if she wasn't up for it the normal way. She'd tearfully declined , he'd not taken no as an answer. The resulting confrontation left her curled up afterwards in the bathroom covered in her own blood and repairing her ruptured colon.

He stormed in like a dark angel and pulled the sobbing witch into his arms one arm around her shoulder and another possessively around her belly , coat wrapped around her like great dark wings.

After her admission Matthias used the ultrasound to check for any internal damage, and with relief told her that her repair had been fine and there was no lasting damage.

And now it was time for the part she'd been anticipating and fearing in equal amounts.

They were going to examine her baby.

* * *

First he had Severus cast a number of charms to read different things , such as white blood cell count and many others.

He was a squib , so could not cast himself though knew which diagnostic spells Severus could cast for him , to save them the lengthy wait for muggle test results.

Her blood pressure was high and her weight too low , she also had a few nutrient deficiencies due to her poor diet until now.

Severus told him of the potions he'd brewed and had been told that all of them were definetly going to help her in the long run.

Finally Matthias asked her to pull up her jumper and examined her belly outwardly first , before bring the ultrasound back around.

"Are you ready to see your baby Mum?"

Her eyes were wide but she nodded with a look of longing at the monitor, and not wanting intrude on such a private moment he offered to give her some privacy.

Cub kicked in protestation when he let go of Hermiones hand and she grabbed his sleeve and pulled his hand back to feel the movement he'd caused.

"Stay. Please ? We both want you here"

Swallowing the lump in his throat , he nodded.  _When had he ever been truly wanted by anyone ?_

She gasped at the cold gel as it was squeezed onto her belly and then the monitor came to life and he wasn't quite sure what he was seeing , grey and black blurs.

There was a tense moment when silence reined in the room , then suddenly a  _woosh woosh woosh_  noise filled his ears along with a relieved sob from Hermione as she held his hand tightly in hers.

"And that's baby's heartbeat , it sounds fast I know but that's right for this age"

Moving the wand around on her belly , he suddenly sucked in a breath when a distinctive shape appeared on the screen.

Hermione gasped and held his hand even tighter "Severus!" But he couldn't look at her , so transfixed was he with the image on the screen.

"Hello Cub " Hermione whispered and the small form moved as if in responce.

"Is everything ...?" She couldn't finish the sentence but both men knew what she meant.

"Everything looks fine" Matthias assured her , and both her and Severus let out the relieved breaths they were holding.

"Your baby's a bit small , but not drastically so , as your diet improves so should the baby and they grow rapidly from this age onwards..."

He snapped a few shots as he pointed out the movement on screen.

"See there, the baby's sucking it's thumb"

There were tears freely running down her face and Severus had his chin resting on her head as he stroked her hair , who he was comforting though, her or himself, he didn't know.

"Can you tell if it's a boy or a girl?" She asked and he moved the reader around.

"Afraid not , we're being shy today it seems... I'd also say you're a little further along that you originally thought, closer to 7 months. I'd put your due date around New Years"

"2 months ?" She questioned "So soon ?"

"Fraid so mom , you need to be getting things prepared."

"I-i don't have anything , I don't have any money or even have _my own_  things" She was tearful and panicking and Severus shushed her as Matthias left the room to give them some privacy.

"I will provide whatever you both need , do not fret"

She stilled in his arms as he rubbed soothing circles on her back.

"Severus , I can't take your money , it's enough that you've opened your home to us , that you're caring for us... I can't use you like that"

He hissed through his teeth as he pulled back to look at her.

"You're not using me, I will do whatever I can freely and willfully"

She hugged him tight to her. "I'll pay you back"

"You already have" He whispered and felt her smile into his chest.

"Severus " She spoke softly and he answered with a soft hum.

"I wish Cub was yours"

* * *

**AN: Abuse is no joke people. These injuries are real injuries that happened after an incident.**

**All of my stories contain abuse of some description , verbal , physical , sexual.**

**Because I draw on my own experiences , and that of others I know.**

**I find writing about Abuse cathartic , it helps to get it out of my mind by writing it down.**

 

**Incidentally if anyone knows of any similar stories, of Severus "Rescuing" Hermione from an abusive relationship , I'd love to read it**

**I already love "Help Wanted" and "When Sorrows Come"**


	9. Chapter 9

**_Yep , the characters are OOC , Sue me._ **

* * *

_She hugged him tight to her. "I'll pay you back"_

_"You already have" He whispered and felt her smile into his chest._

_"Severus " She spoke softly and he answered with a soft hum._

_"I wish Cub was yours"_

* * *

He inhaled sharply at her words , for they mirrored his own thoughts so closely.

"God Severus, I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that..."

She covered her face in mortification, as tears slipped from her eyes.

But in that moment , the thoughts from last night solidified in his mind.

He nodded.

"Cub is mine."

Came his cool reply.

"Severus? I don't understand " Her eyes met his questioningly.

"We both wish it , so it is decided. Cub is mine , and I will raise the child as such with you"

"It's not as easy as that..." She whispered tearfully but He snorted.

"It is as easy as we choose to make it , because god knows being a father has little to do with who put the child in you"

He placed his hand softly on her belly, the first time he had done so of his own accord , and felt the happy flutter under his palm in responce which made him smile softly.

"I was raised by my  _sire,"_  he spat the word _"H_ e was a horrible man and had a horrible temper, not unlike your soon to be ex, he may have sired me but he was not a father."

She trembled at that and raised a gentle hand to cup his cheek. His first instinct was to shrug off the concern and sneer , but he fought it and instead revelled in the touch.

"Many couples have trouble conceiving and use egg or sperm donors, does that make them any less parents ? When same sex couples are raising children , are they not parents ?"

Tears in her eyes, she shook her head.

"Then if it is your wish , I am agreeable. I will raise cub as my own, regardless of the  _donor_  , this child will be mine"

The tears broke free then and slid down her face.

"...but we're not a couple Severus" Her voice almost seemed dejected at that.

He wanted to ask her if she would like to be , but he would not push her.

"That's inconsequential"

"I'm still married. I can't even file for divorce in the wizarding world because I have no proof of anything"

He placed a hand under her chin and lifted her gaze to his.

"Do not worry about that , I will take care of everything"

She wiped her tears and placed her hand upon his as he grasped her hands and gazed into her eyes earnestly.

"I am not a kind man , I am caustic and bitter and have no personal experience of what being a good father entails. But I will never strike you , never hurt you or raise my hands in anger to you, nor will I ever hold you back from anything you want to pursue , and cub will want for nothing. I want to provide for you, I want to care for you , both of you, because I truly believe you are  _mine,_ both of you" He said possessively.

Suddenly realising how that sounded he quickly added.

"I have no desire to control you, you are your own woman and are free to make your own choices, but last night when I  _felt_  Cub...It felt like..."

He trailed off with a hiss of embarrassment ,  _you sound like a sentimental fool_

But she was transfixed on his gaze and spoke softly "Tell me"

Taking a fortifying breath , he turned to her honey brown gaze.

"When I felt cub , felt the movement and the emotions...It felt like  _fate._ That you came to me because you were meant to be here , both of you , that it was my  _purpose_...that you were  _mine._.. Mine to provide for , mine to care for ...just  **mine** "

More tears slipped from her eyes and she fell into his embrace, wrapping her arms round him.

"Oh gods Severus, we are yours both of us if you truly want us"

"I do" He said earnestly.

"But me... you... you  _want_  me ?"

Her voice was uncertain , equal fear and excitement.

He spoke softly into her hair as he held her.

"I do not expect anything from you , I do not expect for you to see me in such a way, and I will provide for you both even if it is your wish that things remain platonic between us, permanently, I would  _never_  force you to do anything you did not wish"

He was totally honest , he would care for her as long as she would allow it, even though he thought she would never see him in a romantic light , but her next soft words shocked him.

"And if I do see you , Severus? What then?"

In for a sickle , he thought.

Holding her hand in his , he brushed a touch over the band on her ring finger

"Then If one day you are ready, I will be honoured to replace his name with my own , and claim you in every way I can , if that is what you wish"

She pulled herself into his embrace and placed a soft kiss on his neck.

"Severus , why am I only seeing you now ? Why did I not follow you the day you handed me that paper"

He didn't reply , because he'd often wished she'd done just that.

* * *

Once the nurse had cast her foot , they wheeled her out in a wheelchair and decided on a plan of action whilst sitting in a small cafe , as Severus insisted they stop to eat.

Over sandwiches and tea they decided that the first thing they were going to do , was to get some Essentials for Hermione and then plan what was needed for the baby. They both hated crowds and shopping , and neither were prepared to do it all in one day.

"Severus , your house is muggle isn't it ? You have electricity ?" She spoke softly and bit her lip.

He nodded in the affirmative.

"Do you have a phone line ?"

Once more he nodded. "There is a phoneline , however I do not have a phone"

She nodded and continued to bit her lip , as she stirred her tea.

"Your point being ?"

She shook her head no and looked down , and he hated to see her looking so docile.

"Hermione, I can assure you that asking me questions will not incur my wrath, if there is something you desire the worst that will happen is that I say no , if it is something I deem unnecessary, which is doubtful as you are not one for desiring frivolous things, I would not reprimand you for asking for something"

"I just feel so rude" She whispered.

He moved his chair around so it was closer to her wheelchair , and placed a gentle hand on her knee.

"I grew up in what can only be described as poverty. I wore threadbare robes that were too big for me, used secondhand books, never went on trips to hogsmeade and had the physique of a starving whippet" The last words were said dryly and made her chuckle.

"It gives me pleasure that I have the means to provide for you, I am a man of some means now Hermoine." He said with a smirk and she gigled and slapped his arm lightly.

"I have enough money that neither you nor Cub will ever want for anything. If there is something you wish , ask , for I am proud that I can give it to you"

She smiled and held his hand, before holding her breath.

"I was thinking , if you had a phoneline then we could have muggle internet installed in the house"

He rose an incredulous eyebrow at that but gestured for her to continue when she looked at him nervously.

"We could shop...online...on the internet...we'd be able to order everything we need for the baby and have it delivered, all without having to leave the house and  _shop_ " She shuddered as she said the last word. She had always been solitary , a person content in her own company but after the war , she truly did hate shopping and crowds.

He traced his finger over his lips and pondered what she said, she watched on nervously before her nodded decisively.

"I am aware of the internet , but not familiar with it , nor with computers...Loathe as I am to admit it, I would not know where to begin"

She simply nodded , and looked dejectedly down to her lap , when he squeezed her hand.

"But obviously you would be able to assist in that venture no doubt ? If it means that I can avoid swarms of shopping muggles , and allows you to keep your feet up and shop at your leisure, then I think it's a brilliant idea"

Her smile lit up her face and he couldn't help but smile back.

As they continued their lunch , he wondered what had been done to this brave and fiery witch , that being able to ask him a simple question had her face lit up for the next hour.

* * *

Once they had finished their break , they decided to apparate to the nearest supermarket to his home grab a few essentials , he cast a notice me not before apparating to the back of the asda carpark near the trolley bay , to ensure that no muggles saw their arrival.

"I could take you home and get food from the local corner shop , it's where I usually walk to if I'm not eating take out , I'm afraid I'm not a good cook" He suggested , but she bit her lip and wrung her hands nervously.

"It would be so much cheaper to shop here, and I want to help you , I'd be happy to cook and clean for us " Her voice was quiet and uncertain.

"You'll do no such thing" He growled and she flinched , he was instantly apologetic. "Apologies. I meant that you are not required to clean Hermione , I am more than capable of keeping the house in order" though he did wince a bit when he remembered how untidy it currently was, due to his own lack of caring when there was no one but him to see it. "I will not have you cleaning in your condition , you will be resting for the next 4 weeks and by then you will be 8 months pregnant and in no fit state to do anything around the house."

She smiled shyly at him , unused to the concern and replied "But you'll let me cook Severus ? I truly don't mind and It's not fair to expect you to spend money on takeaway for us both every night , and you'd spend twice as much at the corner shop than here , I want to feel like I'm contributing something instead of just taking everything"

He knelt in front of the wheelchair , mindful of the cast on her foot as he tenderly cupped her face.

"If you truly wish it witch , then of course you may cook for us, but if you wished to dine out every day it would be of no concern to me"

"I do want it Severus " She smiled and he nodded.

They turned to eye the shopping monstrosity in front of them in trepidation.

"It's 2.30 , so we should miss most of the crowds if we rush , most muggles will be at work and then between 3 and 4 will be collecting their children from school , if we can get this done in an hour and half we should be able to avoid most of it" He said and she nodded determinedly.

As Severus had to push Hermione in the wheelchair , they'd decided it would be too awkward to have a trolley , instead Severus had cast an undectable extension charm on the basket which was on hermione's lap , along with a notice me not so that no one would question why the small basket contained 10 times more than it should be able to carry.

Severus always remembered shopping being a stressful thing growing up, with cash strapped parents bickering and shouting as they counted coppers to pay for measley amounts of food.

But this was so domestic it was almost pleasant.

Hermione shyly asked what foods he liked , and then pointed out what ingredients she would need to make them, which he'd put into the baskets.

There was a warm feeling in his chest as they did so , as he couldn't remember anytime that someone had ever cooked him his favourite meal , just because they wanted to. In fact , he couldn't remember anyone ever cooking a meal for him , ever.

They picked her up some maternity pyjamas to wear in the house , as well as some basics like a t shirt, socks and trainers.  
When they passed the lingerie two bright spots of colour appeared on his cheeks as he realised she probably would need more than just the ones she was wearing.

"Is there anything you require from this department" He said , attempting to keep his voice level.

She smiled softly ," it's not important , I can wait until the internet is in and use cleaning charms every day"

"It is of no concern , we are here now and it would be foolish to pass if there are things you need"

"I don't even know my size" She gestured to the rows of bras and he looked at them as if they may bite him. 

"But Narcissa brought..."

"A crop top , they're more forgiving...real bras have sizes, back and cup...I don't know mine anymore, I know what I  _used_  to be but..."

She looked down at her chest and gestured with her hand and his eyes followed hers before quickly flicking away , as his face went scarlett.

Yes he'd noticed  _those_  aswell.

* * *

**AN : For all our americans out there, you have walmart , we have supermarkets (Asda, Tesco, Sainsburys... incidentally WalMart actually bought out our biggest supermarkt chain in the UK , which is Asda...anyone remember that southpark episode, it really is taking over :-O)**


	10. Chapter 10

He found a tape measure hung on one of the shelves but could not make any sense of it , was a bizarre mix of letters and numbers that he couldn't comprehend.

Come to think of it , the labels on the bra's all showed the strange mixes of numbers and letters too.

"Do you understand this, it's written in some sort of code ?" He asked her as he handed the tape measure.

She chuckled softly and nodded.

"It's bra sizes Severus , a number for back size and a letter for.. _.ahem_...cup size"

"Oh..."

His face was doing a good impression of her house colours , and he could tell she was embarrassed too though she still laughed nervously.

She wrapped the tape measure around her , and held it in front.

"Can you see what it says ? I can't read it from this angle"

Gulping he nodded as he crouched beside her , to look at the tape measure.

It brought him down to her face level and he inhaled when he realised their faces were inches apart.

Her eyes met his and for a moment they were lost in each others gaze before a voice broke through.

"Do you need any help there?"

It was the woman in charge of the clothes department , she was an older woman with brunette hair that was greying. She was smiling indulgently at them , though it faltered slightly when she saw the bruises on Hermione's face.

"I'm wanting to purchase some clothes for my companion, she's going to be staying with me for the forseeable future. Circumstances meant that she had to leave her previous lodgings rather abruptly and didn't have time to pack a bag , so we need at least one everything...however I am unfamiliar with this measuring device."

"I'll be glad to help" The woman's eyes softened at his words and his discomfort and she took over the tape measure for him.

"How far along are you dear?" She asked in a gentle tone.

"7 months" Hermione answered with a small smile.

"Well you've still got a fair bit of filling out to do then eh ?" She patted hermione's hand as she stood.

"Right then , I've got the current measurements , but you'll probably outgrow them pretty quick at this stage, do we have a budget to work to ?"

"Cheapest is fi-" Hermione's words were cut off by Severus's.

"Cost is not an issue."

Smiling knowingly at Severus the woman brought a few pairs of comfortable bras and once lacy one in Hermione's size for her to choose from , along with a nursing bra.

"Are you lactating yet ?"

Hermione blushed but he just raised his eyebrow in curiosity

"No not yet I..."

"Never matter , it'll come some believe me!" The woman laughed. "This one is for nursing and has space to put pads in it "

She nodded and said " I'll just take a couple for now-"

Once more Severus cut her off , by removing the pile from the woman's hands and placing them all in the basket.

"Thank You" He said to the woman who smiled and said her goodbyes, before she left she turned to Hermione with a wink told her to hold onto that one.

When the woman was gone, he put a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Please, Hermione , if you will not do this for yourself then please do it to indulge me"

She nodded tearfully and he got out his hanky .

"I apologise , did I do something to upset you ? It was not my intention" He passed her the handkerchief as she dabbed her eyes.

"yes...no...I mean ... I'm just so overwhelmed by how good you're being to me Severus and factor in the hormones, makes for weepy girl"

Smiling softly now he knew he'd not done anything wrong, he bent forward and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

She met his fathomless black eyes with her shining amber ones.

"How about we go find something with so much chocolate it contains a week's worth of calories ?"

She laughed then , and the last few tears squeezed out of her eyes.

"Sounds Perfect"

* * *

They'd picked up a few leaflets from the supermarket and Severus had made a call from the payphone outside to arrange having the internet put in over the next few days.

Much to Hermione's horror they'd also bought a laptop computer at the supermarket.

She'd balked at the price of the models in the shop, saying they should search the ads in the papers to get a second hand one much cheaper or wait for the boxing day sales.

"This is a computer, yes ?"

"Yes but.."

"It is portable , so you could sit on the sofa or bed with it ?"

"Yes bu..."

"It fulfils all the requirements you need to shop online?"

"Yes b..."

He'd placed it in the basket and wheeled her away from the aisle , effectively ending the conversation.

* * *

Severus had insisted on ordering takeout food that night , despite Hermione's insistence that she was happy to cook for them both.

"And I am happy for you to cook , but we have had a long day and frankly it's going to take at least the best part of an hour to organise my seldom used kitchen . By the time we've done that neither of us will want the hassle of preparing food"

She'd grudgingly agreed and together they'd gotten to work on the kitchen with plans to order Chinese when they were done.

Well... Severus had done most, if not all of the work.

When he'd pulled items out of the seldom used cupboards, including some he was pretty sure hadn't been opened since his childhood, she'd told him what was fine to just be cleaned , what needed fixing up and what could be thrown away.

Then he had her make a list of what they needed to buy to make the kitchen fully functional.

He insisted that they reorganise the kitchen how she'd like it to be organised as she would be the one using it, she'd protested that it was  _ **his**  _house until he added.

"Hermione , I would henceforth like to consider this  _our home_  , and not just  _my house_...besides we just threw out a tin of a soup that expired before you were born"

There wasn't really much she could say to that , other than where she wanted him to put the dried pastas.


	11. Chapter 11

It took them longer than they thought , and it was late when they finally sat down to their takeaway.

After they'd eaten their food , at Hermione's insistence they saved the leftovers for her to eat cold in the morning.

Severus had a spare room , but it was currently empty and being used for storage.

Taking her around in the chair , he gave her the "Grand Tour" of the small house.

Downstairs consisted of a kitchen and Living room/library (as most of the walls were covered in books) , the basement was where he had his potions lab , upstairs there was the master bedroom , spare bedroom and bathroom and then an attic space that he currently wasn't using.

" I have not changed the house since I have lived here" He admitted. "It holds no sentimentality to me, if anything I would like to see it changed , though I had no idea where to begin and it seemed pointless to go to the effort when I was the only one to see it"

He gestured to the fading wallpaper and tried to mask his embarrassment.

"The bones of the house are good , but the cosmetics need improving..." Looking once more at the ancient wallpaper , that had not been changed since his childhood , he added "...it definitely needs a woman's touch"

Make it yours, make it ours, make it a place you and cub would want to stay forever - was what he wanted to say but daren't

He showed her the spare room last of all.

"I thought that we would finish this room first , before doing the rest of the house " He gestured to the inside of the room , and she looked around as best as she could from her chair.

"The items in here are not important , and I have plenty of storage space in the attic for them"

Wiping the dust of one of the boxes with his hand , he quickly added.

"I will work on emptying this room tomorrow, then when it is clear we can have a look at some ideas you like once this internet is installed , once we decorate it to your taste we can shop for whatever furniture and essentials cub will need , before we start on the rest of the house"

"I can transfigure furniture..." she started but he waved her off.

"Nonsense ,buying real furniture is always the better option , lest an accidental finite in the wrong place turn your bed back into a matchbox" he said dryly and she chuckled.

Pleased with his plan, he turned to look at her only to frown at the worried look on her face as she bit her lip and looked around the room.

"What's wrong ? " he asked gently as she looked at him sadly.

"Severus...I know you keep saying it's only money...but you're talking about changing your whole house for me and cub, not to mention you must have spent £500 already just at the supermarket in one day...I'm not worth costing you all this money and time and effort.." She was getting wound up and tears were running down her face by the time he reached her.

She looked down ashamed, and buried her face in her hands to hide her tears.

He dropped to his knees in front of her.

"Hermione, please look at me "

She shook her head and refused to look at him , so he simply knelt beside her and stroked her back soothingly.

Even though she was trying her best not to look at him , as shame ran through her , it seems cub had other ideas , as soon as Severus was close enough for Cub to hear his voice , the baby started to kick emphatically leaving Hermione no choice but to remove her hands from her face to cup her swollen belly with a gasp.

Severus chuckled , and she glared at him despite her tears. "See, even Cub is on my side"

She couldn't help but huff out a laugh at that , and he placed a hand on her belly after looking to see if it was alright.

Deciding that the only way he was going to get through to her was action , he made up a plan in his head , but first he needed to see to his witch.

His witch ?

Offering her is hanky, she smiled in gratitude and dabbed at her eyes.

"I'm sorry" She whispered sadly.

"Don't be, you cannot help your hormones and it has been a long and tiring day, both mentally and physically...You are over tired and need to go to bed"

Nodding in acceptance she handed him his hanky back and he wheeled her out of the room and towards the bathroom, via the bedroom to pick up her nightclothes.

He chose not to say anything, when she picked up a pair of the new pyjama bottoms , but matched them with his slytherin jumper she'd worn the night before.

Once she had finished her ablutions, he returned her to the bedroom and took his own items into the bathroom while he ministered to his own needs.

Knocking on the door before he walked into the bedroom , he came in to find her laid on her side facing the bathroom.

"Hey" She whispered as he walked in, and he responded in kind.

"Is there anything you need?" he asked and she shook her head no.

"I shall leave you to your sleep then" He spoke softly , but she caught his arm before he could leave.

"Severus ? Could you...I mean...would you stay again? and just...hold me ?... Please"

He wanted to shout his thanks to the gods , but simply nodded and answered "Of course"

She lifted the quilt for him to get in , and he shot a nox at the lights , leaving just one small candle giving enough light for one to find their way to the bathroom door without stumbling.

Getting into his side of the bed , he was thrilled beyond measure when she backed closer to him until they were spooning.

"Is this alright ?" She asked over her shoulder and he wrapped his arms around her in responce. "More than"

Her arms came down to support her belly , and he found his mimicking her actions. His much larger hands and arms cupped her own and her belly , supporting them both.

There was a kick from Cub when the baby felt Severus' presence.

She chuckled. "I appear to be brooding the president of the Severus Snape fan club"

He smiled into her hair and stroked his hand across her belly , delighting in the movement he got in return.

He felt the flutter of emotion reach him , and found himself responding with his magic, instinctively providing strength and magic to them both.

It was such a natural reaction , to share his magic and strength with this witch and this small life within her , that he hadn't even realised he'd done in ... let alone that he was doing it without her permission.

She gasped when she realised what he was doing , and he instantly moved his hands back contrite. "Apologies Hermione , I should have asked before I interacted with your child , it was very intrusive of me " He was kicking himself when she grabbed her hand and moved it back , to where cub was protesting rather obviously at his abrupt departure.

"Severus , you're welcome to do anything you wish with Cub , I trust you , I was just suprised , and please don't think I only invited you here tonight because I wanted you to..."

Her words cut off with a gasp when he put both hands on her belly and she felt warmth flood her body as he offered them his strength. Cub kicked along happily , and both Hermione and Severus could feel the contentment through their bonds with the babe.

" I wanted too...I want to..." He whispered and she nodded and smiled as he continued to share his magic and strength with the small life inside her.

Severus closed his eyes and breathed in the scent of her hair , and luxuriated in the feel of utter contentment coming from the babe under his hands... who had ever felt so happy just to feel his presence before ? had he ever been so accepted and wanted ?

Holding both lives in his arms , he smiled and allowed sleep to take him.

" I need to attend Gringotts, and the Muggle Bank, would you be willing to accompany me ?" He asked over breakfast the next day , and she'd looked at him wide eyed.

"Muggle Bank & Gringotts ?" She asked questioningly .

"Indeed... I would like to have you added to both my account in the wizarding and muggle world , so that you can have access to funds should you ever require them when I am not there "

"I won't spend your money Severus..." She started but he held up a hand to stop her , and began his rehearsed plan , he needed to get her to go along with this so he could prove his point about money.

"What if I am away from home , and requested for you to make a certain meal for me on my return ? If you did not have a specific ingredient , you would not even be able to access my muggle funds , to...let's say go to the corner shop to buy a loaf of bread without my presence , it seems a ridiculous notion therefore the only logical approach would be to have you added on to my accounts, I am not asking you to spend my money but I want the option there in case you need to access funds for something for me when I am not around"

She seemed to ponder that for a moment before acquiescing to his request, and he fought a smirk of victory.

Stage one Complete.

Stage two went alright.

Though the Muggle bank account was the easiest to get her added on to , and he fought a pang of longing when given his new bank card with both of their names on it , he'd failed at trying to get her to 'accidentally' see the balance of the account.

She'd been too polite of course to chance a sneaky look at the statement he took from the machine , or the printed copy he requested for his files, both of which he'd ensured to hold at such an angle she would've been able to read it if she wanted to.

Goddamn Gryffindors.

Oh well, he'd just have to make his point at Gringotts.

She'd become extremely nervous when they prepared to travel to Diagon Alley, on the verge of a panic attack , until he'd placed his arms around her and asked her what was wrong.

"I haven't been out in public for months , I don't know what's going to happen... If Ronald has said or done... I don't..."

He pulled off his cloak and wrapped it around her , casting a subtle notice me not on her as he went.

"I do not usually read the prophet , but I shall apply for a subscription for you , so that you may keep abreast of current issues , in the meantime please trust that I will keep you safe"

Soothed by the feel and scent of his cloak around her , and slightly jaw dropped at the site of his trim figure in just his frock coat , she nodded to him.

He thought of another question , and decided to ask as it had been plaguing his mind since her arrival.

"Your wand...do we need to take you to see Ollivander ?"

Her eyes filled with tears which she blinked back , then nodded softly.

They decided to do Ollivanders first , and flood directly there.

"Ah Miss Granger, Master Snape , so pleased to see you both , I was wondering when you would be here Miss Granger"

The old man smiled at her and she returned it .

"Very sad indeed the loss of your wand , vinewood and unicorn hair wasn't it ?"

She nodded sadly and he gave her a sympathetic look.

"I feel it when every one of my children is hurt or broken " He said gesturing to the wall of wands behind him.

"But if you're here to buy a new wand I'm afraid I cannot help you"

Both her and Severus started in Suprise.

Ollivander had never turned anyone down for a wand as far as they knew, even death eaters and Tom Riddle himself had gotten their wands there.

Hermione gasped and her eyes filled with tears as she stepped back into Severus' comforting presence , who scowled at the wandmaker who had slighted the girl.

"Oh no, my dear girl you misunderstand" The man walked around to place a soothing hand on her arm and lead her to the nearest chair.

"I cannot sell you a wand , as it would be practically impossible to find a new wand that would accept the magic of both you and the child growing within you."

Hermione let out a relieved breath at that , as all the fears of Ron having poisoned the world against her began to evaporate.

"No, you have two completely different magical signatures you see, and though your original wand would have continued to work for you through your confinement , a new wand will not choose you whilst you're pregnant and carrying two magical signatures... you will have to wait until the child is born for a new wand to accept you"

Severus and Hermione nodded in understanding and Hermione held on to Severus's Proffered hand, when a sudden thought made him pause.

"But despite her having two magical signatures, my wand allowed Hermione to use it?" He stated , remembering her casting the patronus that summoned Narcissa to his home.

The wand-maker had simply smiled a knowing smile at the man.

"Yes , it did indeed didn't it?"

They flood directly from Ollivanders to Gringotts , as they'd both wanted to avoid the crowds of Diagon Alley.

The goblins cared not for the potions master adding a former student to his account , as long as all the paperwork was filed correctly.

Once they were done , he'd requested to visit his vault as he believed he'd left a certain book in there.

Due to Hermione's pregnancy , they used the lift to access the vaults instead of the mine cart .

The lift which was enchanted to travel in any direction with a goblin steering it , was a fancy thing made out of gold and when severus had seen it the first time as a child , it had reminded him of the elevator in Charlie and the chocolate factory. A thought which he now whispered into Hermione's ear and made her giggle.

He puffed his chest out in male pride as she laughed and leant into his side.

The goblin opened his vault and he asked Hermione to help him locate the book , it was too rare to risk damaging it by summoning it with an accio, and two sets of eyes would save time after all. In truth , the book was a second copy of one he already had at home , but he just needed a way to get her into his vault .

She'd of course been happy to help, and had stepped into his vault with the single minded determination of a Gryffindor on the hunt , when she'd stopped in the doorway , eyes froze in shock.

Gold and Galleons were piled from floor to ceiling in the massive vault, that went back farther than she could see, it was easily 3 times the size of Harry's vault and much more furnished.

She gaped and hadn't moved from the spot she was in .

"How..." she started then stopped at his chuckle.

Snapping her mouth shut she covered her mouth with her hand and gasped.

"I'm sorry that's so rude" She said .

"It's alright" He said , still chuckling and pointed to a large section of gold.

"Dumbledore left me almost everything in his will, apart from somethings he left for the school, Potter and Minerva"

He gestured to one wall.

"Family money for being the last male of the Prince line "

Then Another wall of galleons

"Potions work and contracts with St. Mungos, Hogwarts and the Ministry"

And another pile of gold.

"Order of Merlin 1st class cash sum"

She looked around dumbfounded and he smiled.

"So as you can see Hermione, It is of no concern if we splurge and buy the good toilet roll instead of the supermarket own brand ones" She blushed at the reminder of the disagreement they'd had about her penny pinching in the supermarket and he chuckled at her embarrassment.  
He moved over to her and wrapped and arm around her , pulling her into a one armed hugged.

She pressed her face into his chest and chuckled in embarrassment.

"I've been a food haven't I ? " She said softly and he nodded. "I did try to explain" He said with a smirk and she smiled sadly against his chest.

"I just feel terrible Severus , I feel like I'm taking advantage"

"You have asked nothing from me ,that I have not already offered , and if you will not take my financial assistance for yourself then at least allow me to provide for Cub" he spoke with emphasis and she nodded against him.

"I Promise" She whispered.

He kissed her head with a smile

Mission accomplished.


	12. Chapter 12

**_ Author's Note : _ **

**Hello Everyone.  
I'm really sorry for the delay in updates , but for anyone who is not reading my other fictions , I've been quite down lately due to receiving a lot of hate and abuse over my other fiction Not The Same Girl , to the point where I almost put all my stories on Hiatus as it was getting so depressing to keep finding messages of hate in my inbox.**

**It got me really down and I was struggling to find the motivation to write , so I apologise for the delay.**

* * *

It was only as they left the vault , that a thought came in to his head and could not be held back.

"You received an order of Merlin yourself did you not ?"

"Second Class" She smiled sadly at him. Harry had gotten 1st class of course, herself 2nd and Ron 3rd. Much to his displeasure, it had been a matter of contention between them throughout the beginnings of their marriage, until it had been taken by charges.

"You should've got first , and the cash to go with it " He grumbled, Potter may have been the one to defeat the dark lord at the final battle , but he wouldn't have lived to see the day if it wasn't for the Woman in front of him , and as the sole heir to two pureblood families with all the Potter and Black wealth, he already had more than enough funding to go around without a cash payout.

"Maybe , but It did have a cash payout , only less than a 1st class. "

He arched an eyebrow at that, "Indeed , and if I may ask..."

"Harry got 70,000 galleons , I got 30,000 galleons , and Ron got 5,000 galleons"

"Speaking of Galleons Mrs Weasley , will you be making a withdrawal today?" The goblin interjected.

30,000 galleons was enough to set a person up for life if they were smart , enough to buy a house and live comfortably and Severus couldn't imagine Hermione blowing through it in the 5 years since the final battle.

"I can't make a withdrawal from our account without my ...without  _-Ronald"_ " She said quietly.

"And your own vault ?" The Goblin questioned , and she startled.

"I...I thought it...Ron said it had been closed.. if it's still there it's empty" She said shamefully , "We only have our joint account which Ron controls, as per wizarding marriage customs"

"But marriage customs do not trump an order of Merlin Mrs Weasley , your husband has no rights over that money , even if it was transferred in your joint account , though I have no record of such a transfer or your account being closed."

She was blushing now and had a deeply upset expression on her face , "My order of Merlin money was...it... it was used for the  _Damage charges_ "

The goblin was looking at her funny and Severus too had a question on his face .

"Damage charges Mrs Weasley?" The goblin looked perturbed and she realised she would have to spell it out.

"The charges that I owed Gringotts , for the damage to the bank during the war"

She had hated coming back the bank after the war , memories of that awful event and creeping around in Bellatrix's skin , after the woman had tortured her...she avoided it at all costs.

But then when Ronald returned from Gringotts one day with the news that all her savings had been confiscated by the goblins , to pay for damages during the war , the heartbroken and mortified witch had not dared to show her face in the building again.

"Mrs Weasley...I am certain I do not know of what you are speaking , we made no charges to yourself , your husband or Mr. Potter and the Ministry provided all costs to cover the damages in the building"

Hermione's face drained of colour , and her legs threatened to give out from under her.

Severus quickly caught her and the goblin transfigured a seat for her to sit upon.

"R-Ronald told me.." She couldn't get her breath , Severus looked worried and the Goblin looked angry..."What precisely did he say..."

"I...he told me that my account had been closed , that all my assets were used for paying off the damages to Gringotts , that the goblins weren't happy with me as it was my idea to release the dragon"

Severus was fuming and the Goblin looked apopoleptic .

A ledger was suddenly in his hands as he tracked his nail down the transactions.

"I have here that Mr. Weasley was approved to make a withdrawal on your account"

"But I never !" Hermioned interjected but the Goblin continued.

"and he..." Here the goblin frowned , and looked closer at the page.

"He what ? " Severus bit out .

"He emptied the account, and deposited the funds to his own personal account-"

Hermione's head snapped up at that. "He has his old vault still ? He told me that was closed when we got our joint account after we married"

"You did not approve his handling of your funds and he hid part of his assets from you? You were unaware of this vault?" The goblin was furious, Hermione simply shook her head.

"Gringott's takes allegations of fraud very seriously Mrs Weasley , and wizarding custom dictates that a husband should always make a wife aware of all his assets" With that he summoned a clear vial which arrived with another goblin"

"She cannot take veritaserum " Severus growled but the goblin only regarded him.

"This is not Veritaserum , it is thieve's downfall , it is a goblin creation and I assure you it will not harm the witch or her child , it will simply show through any attempts at deceipt"

Hermione nodded after Severus had inspected the vial , and with the other Goblin as witness he doused hermione in the liquid before proceeding to ask her about her vault.

When she confirmed that she had not given Ronald permission to access her account , nor did she know about his other account , the Goblin grew angry and turned to look at the much younger looking goblin beside him , who was looking decidedly nervous.

"Strongclaw...You are in charge of Mr. & Mrs. Weasley's vaults, would you care to explain how Mr. Ronald Weasley has been able to gain access to Mrs. Weasley's personal funds , along with concealing another account..."

"I-I was certain...he was so...he's her husband and he had her wand !" 

Severus answered here. "Mrs Weasley's soon to be ex husband often removed her wand forcibly from her person , he may have had it in his possession but it was not given freely"

The older goblin let out a string of what could only be curses in gobbeldegook , before sending the younger goblin scurrying away with some harsh words , and quickly firing off a number of messages.

"My apologies Mrs Weasley-" "Hermione " She interjected. "I don't want to go by his name " She was still pale and leaning heavily against Severus for support.

"Very well...Hermione... I have frozen yours and Mr Weasley's accounts while we look into this matter further"

He flipped the ledger to another page.

"It says here that of the initial 20,000 galleons Mr. Weasley transfered to his personal account , there is just under 2,000 galleons left"

She dropped into the seat once more and Severus placed a soothing hand on her back.

"He spent... over 18,000 galleons in less than 5 years... on  _what_  "

The goblin flicked through his ledger and began to list the payments, each one making her more and more incensed.

A total of 1,000G to Quality Quidditch Supplies,

Around 7,000G between the leaky cauldron in diagon alley and the 3 broomsticks in hogsmeade.

1,000G at Honeydukes 

And 9,000G to the Chudley Cannons.

"The chudley cannons ? " Hermione had almost laughed hysterically at that , it was quite obvious that Ron had tried, and failed, to buy his way onto the team , when his reputation as 1/3rd of the golden trio was not enough.

When suddenly another thought struck her.

"You said 20,000 Galleons ? What about the 10,000 I had marked for..."

She cut off here and cupped her belly , and Severus understood.

The money she'd put aside for the children she would have one day.

"The remaining 10,000 was paid off in a number of installements over the next few years. There are a few differnet names here but the most common one is a Charles Attack"

"Charle's attack?" She questioned  

"I know of him" Severus growled. "He makes mundungus fletcher look positively precious, but he's best known for running illegal betting on Quidditch"

Suddenly it was all too much and the emotions overwhelmed her, as she burst into laughter at the same time tears began flowing down her face.

"He stole my wand , stole my money , spent 20,000 Galleons on himself and the 10,000 Galleons I'd put aside for our child's college fees...he gambled away on quidditch"

 


	13. Chapter 13

**I want to apologise for the delay in updating.**

**A few days ago I lost someone really close to me , and it threw me.**

**It was totally unexpected and I wasn't prepared.**

**I spent the last couple of days walking around either in a daze or in such a low state of mind that I've been fighting dark thoughts that I haven't had in a while , and hoped not to have again.**

**Sorry for letting you guys down , here's the next chapter.**

* * *

_Suddenly it was all too much and the emotions overwhelmed her, as she burst into laughter at the same time tears began flowing down her face._

_"He stole my wand , stole my money , spent 20,000 Galleons on himself and the 10,000 Galleons I'd put aside for our child's college fees...he gambled away on quidditch"_

* * *

The Goblins had been furious , and not just at the fraud but at whom it was aimed.

Hermione had been a big hitter in the Department for the control and regulation of magical creatures before she'd 'left' the job at Ron's insistence.

It was thanks to her it was now the Department of Non Human Magical Beings Liaisons , with an entirely separate office that dealt with magical creatures.

She'd fought for the rights of 'non human sentient beings' , for Goblins , Centaurs , Werewolves and elves among many others, to be classed as _beings_  and not  _creatures_. It was a hard earned victory, but she'd done it.

The Goblins loved her for it, so used to being looked down upon in wizarding society , they did not easily forget those that stood up for them.

When Ronald Weasley's duplicity came to light , heads were going to roll.

Hermione, so emotionally exhausted from the day had accepted the offer of flooing directly home from the Goblin's private chambers , with Severus to follow shortly after once he'd dealt with the formalities.

Hermione had allowed him access to all of her accounts and funds , and this time it was in front of a Goblin and all genuine.

When she'd left the room , he turned to the head goblin who eyed him critically to which he offered him a wicked smirk full of dark promise.

"I believe there are plans to be made...no?" He questioned.

The goblin had smiled back , showing rows of vicious teeth.

"Indeed Master Snape...please" he gestured to his office.

A quick patronus , and not much later Lucius Malfoy stepped regally out of the open floo.

The three walked into the office, and set wheels into motion.

* * *

When he arrived back home , it was a to a sight and smell that made his heart clench in his chest.

Hermione was cooking in his kitchen , Her hair was wet from a shower and she wearing only a pair of pyjama bottoms and his slytherin jumper.

Not only was she cooking but it was from the smell of it , his favourite meal.

Roast beef , with vegetables, gravy and Yorkshire puddings. A proper 'Sunday Dinner' , that made him think of happier times when his grandmother was still alive.

The one person who'd always had time for him.

She looked so relaxed , and so  _at home_ that he desperately wished that she would consent to stay forever.

As he watched silently , she ambled about the kitchen doing various tasks simultaneously the muggle way , and was reading from a magical textbook at the same time, which he wasn't even sure was in English.

He was slightly embarrassed by her flawless ability to multitask , as he could barely cook with  _all_  his concentration on the oven.

Making sure to take his boots off loudly , so that she wasn't startled by his approach , his stomach did a little flutter when she turned and smiled as she saw him.

"Hey Severus , I was so frustrated after everything today...I just needed something to do , and I wanted to do something nice for you , I hope you don't mind ?"

She actually looked as though she was worried he might not approve of her using his kitchen.

"Witch , trust me that whenever you decide you wish to spend your time cooking for me , I can assure you I shall not mind"

She smiled then and he came over and placed his arm around her shoulders in a half hug. He didn't want to force her into anything more , but she happily put her book down and turned it into a full hug which he returned with gusto.

"Here sit , you've had a longer day than me" She said , and took his coat from him. Once more he fought the buildup of tears in his eyes at the genuine caring she displayed as she took his coat and hung it up , before ushering him into a seat at the small table and bringing him a cup of tea.

"It's you that should be off your feet madam , while you still have that cast "

"I've spent most of my day sat in one way or another , and when dinner is finished I'll be done for the day , I just needed to burn this nervous energy off"

He nodded, for he could understand that.

"After this , you will put your feet up "

"Yes dear " She said with a smile , it was said teasingly but it was like a balm to his soul.

Reaching for his cup of tea, he spoke softly to her as she carried on with her work.

"What were you reading?"

His mouth watered when she opened the oven to check on the meat. Not just at the smell , but of the sight of her bending over in front of him.

"It's an old french text book on practical applications of arithmancy you had on the shelf , from what I can gather it's more or less their version of Stoker's applied arithmancy , but with a few interesting differences"

"Indeed?" He questioned. "Is arithmancy something you remain interested in ?" He remembered vector had always sung her praises , and had hoped for her to apprentice in the subject , before the ministry snapped her up.

"It was, don't get me wrong I loved my job at the ministry and was proud of everything I accomplished as I felt I really made a difference, but one day I would like to..."

She cut off then and cupped her belly with a sad smile.

"...One day I  _would've_  liked to have studied it further"

"What's stopping you ?" He questioned and she rose her eyebrow at him.

"Severus, you do remember that I'm pregnant right ?"

He snorted at her and she threw a tea towel at him.

"I'm aware." He said drolly "But what I don't understand is why that will stop you following your dreams of becoming an arithmancer ? If you were to gain your mastery no doubt McGonnagol would snap you up for the teaching position when vector retires "

"I would've loved that" again said with the sad smile.

"Then why the past tense , you are still young and will not be pregnant forever"

"That's exactly the point Severus , once cub is born that's going to be my life for the next 11 years until cub goes to Hogwarts"

"Plenty of mothers work Hermione , you act as though you are going to be chained to the kitchen"

She looked sadly at him , and turned to focus on the dinner.

"Hermione, when I said that I would be here for the both of you , I meant it. If cub is to be mine  , I want to play an active part in the baby's life"

She placed a plate of food in front of him that made his mouth water, and sat beside him.

He reached over and grabbed her hand , and her eyes met his.

"You know that I am a man of means Hermione , neither of us has to work again if we do not wish it "

She simply nodded and looked down , but he tipped her chin up with his finger.

"However I shall not hold you back if it is your wish to have a career. I brew specialist potions for the challenge and the sense of achievement, not for the money, and that is all done from home. I have no issues with being a stay at home father , if you wish to work"

With that he began to eat the meal she'd prepared for him and moaned at the first delicious taste burst onto his tongue.

It took him a few more bites to realise that she was not eating as well and he turned to look at her shell-shocked face.

"You'd really do that?" She whispered. "You'd raise cub with me , and let me work , you're not just saying it are you?"

"Of course " He said simply.

"But , you're the man...and wizarding tradition..."

He snorted.

"Wizarding tradition is a bunch of outdated male centric sexist nonsense most of the time , I have spent over 20 years from one master to another whilst simultaneously working to educate wizarding britain in how not to blow themselves up , I have no problem being a kept man and stay at home father if you wish to be the breadwinner of the house"

She smiled widely at that and he found himself returning it.

"Just one condition" 

"Name it" she whispered.

"Don't make me cook"

She laughed then and kissed his cheek , and he couldn't help smiling like a loon.

They began to chat arithmancy over the dinner table and his hand sneaked over to cup cub , who happily kicked along to the conversation.

 

* * *

_In shocking news today the notorious Mr. Ronald Weasley , who was already on probation at work after recently being seen arriving in a drunken fashion to the Auror offices of the MLE was today found guilty of Fraud by the wizengamot , after evidence given by the Goblins of Gringotts, along with charges of illegal gambling and the confunding of a Gringotts employee._

_The man who is 1/3 of the Golden Trio has had all his remaining funds confiscated , and is having charges filed against him for a number of galleons spent that were taken illegally from the vault of one Miss Hermione Granger._

_What's that you say Dear readers ? The same Miss Hermione Granger , who was until recently Miss Hermione Weasley ? Why that's right , Miss Granger who is the soon to be **EX**  wife or Mr Ronald Weasley , has filed for divorce in absentia... the reasons for the divorce you say ?  
Well here's the juicy part Dear Readers , not only has Miss Granger sited fraud and disloyalty , but also unreasonable behaviour._

_Miss Granger was recently climbing ladders in the ministry , and well known as another 1/3rd of the golden trio , but my sources say she didn't leave her esteemed job at the ministry of her own free will... oh no._

_" She was so sad to leave , she'd been doing so well." The source explained ."But her husband had wanted her to come home once they discovered she was pregnant, strange, she'd never said they were trying to have kids , she'd always talked about wanting to advance her career first you know ? She wasn't the type to drop everything to become a mother in her early 20s"_

_What exactly has Mr Weasley done that's so unreasonable ? And where is the pregnant Miss Granger Now ?_

_Stay tuned for more on this story as it develops_

_Rita Skeeter_

_Writing for the daily prophet_


	14. Chapter 14

It had been two weeks since their visit to Gringotts and she was already looking much better.

The bruises had faded greatly, and though still visible she didn't have two black eyes.

Thanks to his nutritional potions and her cooking, she was filling out nicely and not looking so frail.

He'd been suprised to notice with regular meals, he'd also filled out a little and was sleeping better and getting less stomach troubles than he had on his previous diet of fast food.

She was no longer sleep deprived , and like him now slept soundly every night. Much to his delight, every night he would ask her if she wanted him ti stay and every night she still requested that he did.

Every night he held her close in his arms , and gave whatever spare energy he had to cub and fell asleep praying to every deity that would listen , not to snatch them away from him.

.

They spent a full day together and emptied the spare room. He'd done all the muscle work, moving and shifting boxes and she had done all the organisation from her wheelchair. When the muggles arrived to fit the house for the internet, the first thing they'd done had been to acquire some proper packing boxes at her insistence, which she ordered online with his bank card and had delivered to the house. Marvellous invention. They went through everything in the spare room and organised it properly , boxing up and labelling and then reinforcing the boxes with wards. It was much more practical than his storage style , which was towering piles of junk, remiss of the room of requirement... plus accioing whichever item he needed and hoping it didn't cause a landslide.

It also didn't hurt that seeing her cursive handwriting on the boxes as he took them to the attic , made his heart seize with happiness at the thought of her making more of a presence in their home. Especially the box labelled , "Severus' old school books / Save for Cub"

When the room was finally empty , she'd laughingly taken over the cleaning spells when he'd attempted to clean the dingy walls. "Severus you can't use that spell on wallpaper, it conjures soapy water!" He'd been about to argue when he noticed the wallpaper he'd attempted to clean was now peeling from the wall with the weight of the water. She'd only laughed harder at his consternated look and in the end he'd given in and joined her in laughter , surrendering his wand to her she cast the appropriate spells to clean and freshen the room while he went and made them some tea.

They'd decided to strip the wallpaper and paint the room instead. She wasn't sure what spell to use to do it and didn't want to use his suggestion of just conjuring the soapy water spell again.

"I don't want to risk damaging the plaster wall underneath Severus, if it gets damp the whole room will need redoing"

He'd realised she was right , and decided rather than going out and having to find and purchase the books, then subsequently learn the spells...and risk vanishing the wall itself if he failed, he'd decided it would be easier to just strip the paper off the muggle way with a paper scraper and elbow grease.

She'd spent the day making his favourite meal while he stripped the room of wallpaper.

At one point she'd come upstairs with a cup of tea for him and found him shirtless in his sweatpants , as he stripped the walls. She'd spent a good time eyeing up the muscles of his chest, and admiring certain other attributes when he'd bent over to pick something up from the floor.

When he turned to face her and she brandished the tea cup in offering with a smile , she couldn't help flicking an appreciative glance over the front view either.

Severus was not an overly muscled man , and definitely didn't look like he'd been hitting the weights bench , but years of being physically fit and in such a demanding role had left him lithe and toned. Like a swimmer, she thought as she eyed his chest...and lower. Merlin help me, he has an adonis belt...don't drool Hermione.

Severus, who'd never considered himself to be a handsome man was more than a little pleased to find her appraising his person. As he took the cup from her he'd raised his eyebrow in amusement and she'd simply smiled back and winked , causing him to nearly choke on his tea, before returning to the kitchen.

When he was done he walked downstairs to find her sat at the table reading the arithmancy book , food under a stasis on the oven.

"You didn't have to wait " He said as he sat down , but she'd smiled at him.

"Dinner's a family meal" she's said it so simply and with such a gentle and innocent smile, that his heart almost burst in his chest.

Family.

Eating a home cooked meal, with my family , in our home.

She placed a plate of his favourite roast beef in front of him with a smile , and to his surprise placed a hand on his shoulder and kissed him on the cheek.

"Thank you for working so hard today Severus"

He'd placed his hand over hers and spoke back.

"Thank you for this lovely meal Hermione , now what are you reading any more to do with your arithmancy project ? "

Then she'd sat down with a smile and they'd continued to discuss the advanced arithmancy she'd been working on as a pet project, and he was more than a little pleased when she'd actually lost him with some of her explanations and had to go back and explain the theory to him as her knowledge of the subject far surpassed his own.

.

Since that day she'd been much more open with him physically , and he'd responded in kind. Thrilled at the direction things were moving in.

She'd never hesitate to touch his arm , or shoulder when talking to him.

Sometimes she would even cup his face or tuck his hair behind his ear.

She kissed him on the cheek whenever she passed him a cup of tea , or a plate of food and would brush her hand over his if they passed each other.

Once she'd made the gestures , he'd began to tentatively do the same. And was pleased beyond reason , when she'd accept a kiss on the cheek from him or when he'd lift his arm whilst sat on the sofa, and she'd snuggle into his side.

Once or twice she fell asleep with her head in his lap.

Many more times he fell asleep with his head in hers.

He'd taken to talking to cub when he thought she was asleep , laid in bed with his face level with her belly, wishing he had permission to rest his head upon the swell of her stomach and be even closer to the two of them. He'd tell stories to cub and hold conversations, all while resting his hand on her belly and offering whatever strength he could spare , even if she didn't need it anymore and cub seemed to have almost doubled in size, he still wanted to give it.

When she'd caught him one night speaking to her belly, he'd been mortified , thinking she'd be angry but instead she had tears in her eyes and had welcomed him into her embrace. He'd rested his head on her belly for the first time and listened to the baby moving within , as she'd ran her fingers through his hair. It was bliss , and his new favourite place to be.

.

It had been a month since her arrival at his home when Hermione said she was ready for visitors.

He would have protested, if it hadn't been his godson she'd requested , and suggested that she would get him to help her plan the decoration for cub's room , as they had come to call it.

He was eager as ever for her to take an interest in making the house a home for them, but the inner straight male was thankful for the reprieve from looking at colour swatches and paint samples as he'd seen her doing on the internet over the past few days.

Like the furniture they'd decided to paint the room the muggle way, though they'd decided together they wanted to do a proper job on the house , and renovate each room fully, starting with cleaning and decorating before buying new items... he had no interest whatsoever in whether they chose chalk white, brilliant white or ivory and had thrown his hands up in surrender to her decorative decisions and told her to let him know when they moved on to furnishings.

A month on from her arrival she was still bruised, though they had faded to sickly yellows and greens instead of the blacks and purples they started with. She also still had a cast on her leg, though at least she was no longer looking like she'd been fresh out of a car wreck like she had when she'd first arrived.

Draco arrived through the floo and had taken one look at her sat on the sofa, smiling at him and flown into her embrace with a cry.  
He hadn't seen her in over a year , and hadn't spoken to her since before she got pregnant. Before that he'd come to be one of her closest friends, though Ronald had been amazingly diverse at both calling him every insulting and homophobic name he could think of , whilst still insinuating that Hermione was sleeping with him. Which made total sense in his moronic logic.

When Draco had come out as Gay after the war , it had been the end of a number of his so called friendships. Hermione had not abandoned him , and for the first time in his life he'd known what it was like to have a true friendship, not one based on what you can gain from the other. It was why it had hurt him all the more when after 4 yeasr of friendship and almost daily correspondence, the woman had cut contact with him, even though he was certain that it had not been her choice at the time as he'd relayed to Severus, there was still the nagging doubt that she'd abandoned him as his other so called friends had.

She was sat on the sofa with her feet up on the footrest he'd bought for her , with Severus sat on one side rubbing her back as she'd been having Braxton Hicks contractions more and more frequently.

Draco had launched himself into the seat on her otherside wrapping his arms around her in a hug.

Her pregnancy hormones were running rampant that week and she couldn't control the tears from flowing down her face as she pulled him into the tight hug.

The boy was crying freely , something he'd never have allowed himself to do before the end of the war.

"Granger look at you, you're as big as a house and your hair looks shite"

"Thanks ferret, I love you too"

They shared a laugh and Severus smiled , she needed this, as much as he'd wanted to keep them both to himself he was not Ronald Weasley, nor his own father Tobias Snape. He would not possesses her , and own her and hide her away from the world.

The boy traced his fingers over the still slightly visible bruises over her eyes before cupping the side of her face. She placed her hand over his and smiled sadly before flinching at a pretty vicious kick.

"I think someone wants to be introduced" Severus drawled and Hermione winced."Ow...where are my manners" She said dryly , in a perfect imitation of Severus's tone.

"Draco , this is Cub , Cub this is Draco...your godfather"


	15. Chapter 15

Draco had cried more than Severus had seen him cry since he was a toddler, when Hermione had told him that he was to be Cub's godfather.

They'd sat and talked for hours and when she'd mentioned her inclination to gain her arithmancy mastery , with the goal of becoming the aritmancy mistress at Hogwarts he'd gushed about how much she'd excel in the position, he himself was working as a trainee healer at St. Mungos.

When they'd moved onto plans for the bedroom Severus had nope-d right out of that discussion and instead gone to brew in his private lab , he'd also told them he'd purchase a takeaway tonight so Hermione could concentrate on brainstorming cubs room , rather than cooking.

When he'd told her he was going to brew she'd answered him with a smile and an "OK Love " , she'd squeezed his hand as he walked passed and he'd instinctively dropped a kiss on her cheek , as was their custom to do nowadays.

She'd given him a heated look , as he was finding that she was doing more and more these days, and he'd left her to discuss shades of white.

* * *

"I saw that " Draco drawled with a smirk that was eerily remiss of Severus.

"Saw what?" She asked, trying for casual and failing miserably.

"God, it's painfully obvious that you would've never made a good Slytherin" he said in mock disgust.

"Thank you for the compliment" She answered primly and he threw a cushion at her.

"In all seriousness though Granger... there's something going on between you and him, right ? Not just playing house-guest"

She smiled shyly but nodded "Yeah, there is "

"I'm impressed, takes balls to tackle someone like Severus, but strange as it is for me to admit... the two of you make sense"

She laughed and rested her head on his shoulder.

"You're not just saying that because we're your two favourite people to visit , and having us in the same place makes travelling so much less arduous ?"

He barked at laugh. "Well there is that " he drawled and they both laughed.

There was silence for a moment where they were both content to just  _be_  , when Draco spoke.

"So have you fucked him yet?"

"NO! Seriously ? Draco what the hell!"

She tensed , then smacked him on the arm and he laughed at her red face .

"What? I can see the sexual tension between you two , the amount of pheromones the pair of you are giving off is enough to choke an erumpet!"

Hermione was blushing furiously and he was grinning ear to ear at her discomfort.

"I was... We're not...we haven't ..."

She struggled to make the words come out , and felt more and more uncomfortable as Draco carried on with his teasing , unaware of the reason for her discomfort.

"You're not , but not for lack of trying huh ?"

"I...I think I want to, I mean... I really wanted to at least once  _before_  cub was born, but...I guess I'm ...scared"

"Come on Granger , you've been here a month giving each other the googoo eyes and you've not been knocking boots ? Well why the hell are you scared, you're already pregnant , what's the worst that could happen ?"

"I'm just not ready... after... everything..." She spoke quietly and he chuckled.

"Not ready ? Hermione you're not exactly a blushing version , I have evidence to the fact.." He gestured to her pregnant belly "So if  _you_  want to and  _he_  wants to , what's stopping you?"

She didn't answer , and he must have realised that she wasn't on the same wavelength as him as he got serious and moved closer.

"Granger , what's wrong ?"

He put a hand on her thigh as he moved closer , it was an innocent touch from a friend meant as nothing more , a friend who wasn't even attracted to women. However Hermione was so focussed on the violent memories his innocent teasing had brought up, the ones she'd tried so hard to repress , that she couldn't help but flinch violently when he touched her.

"Whoa whoa" he said , lifting his palms up in a 'surrender' motion. "Hermione what's wrong, what did I say?"

She shook her head, and was shivering as tears began to build up and fall from her eyes, despite her best efforts to hold them at bay.

"I t-thought you knew , that your p-parents would have t-told you"

"Told me what ? They told me that bastard had been hitting you and you were staying with Severus, that the two of you were close"

"...w-what Ron d-did"

"What he did ? I know he hit you , but... "

Her watery eyes met his , and suddenly silver grey eyes turned steel as an angry look fell over his face.

"Hermione , did he  _hurt_  you"

She looked away ashamed , and couldn't meet his gaze as she nodded.

"What did he do ? Tell me"

"I..I c-can't"

He grabbed her hand in his.

"Tell me what that  _bastard_  did "

She sniffed , and pulled her jumper tighter around herself in an effort to cover more of herself up.

Draco was mentally tallying their words and her actions , when his face suddenly dropped.

"Hermione. You don't have to say anything , just nod ok"

She sniffled again but nodded, and he rubbed her back.

"Did he rape you ?" the boy asked quietly and evenly , though there was a hint of steel in his tone.

She let out a choked sob but nodded , releasing his hand to cover her face with hers.

"I'll fucking  ** _kill_**  him " The boy growled and jumped to his feet and promptly knocked over a lamp , which landed with a smash , causing Hermione to jump and sob louder.

It was that moment Severus rushed up stairs after hearing the commotion. 

After bursting into the room he saw Hermione sat on the sofa ,sobbing and cringing away from Draco.

He took in the violent look in the boys eyes  , and the smashed lamp besides Hermione.

 _Protect your family  -_ The voice in his head screamed.

He reacted.

Years of fighting instinct and honed reactions , had him tossing a curse almost instantaneously.

Hermione screamed as he hexed Draco , and the boy flew across the room , before hitting the wall and landing on the floor.

Silent and not moving.

 


	16. Chapter 16

**WARNING: Graphic Descriptions of Rape in this chapter.**

**Skip the section in italics if this bothers you.**

* * *

He ran over to Hermione , who was shaking, sobbing and holding her arms around her belly as she tried to get her breath.

"S-s-severus...draco..."

He waved her off quickly as he pulled her into his arms.

"He's just stunned, when I rennervate him the worse he'll have is a bruise from where he hit the wall...I was afraid he'd say or do something dunderheaded and I just wanted to stop him before he upset you any more"

Nodding in relief she tried to relax into his arms , but her heart was racing, her tears refused to stop and her whole body was shaking.

"It's ok...it's alright" He was rubbing her back in soothing circles , attempting to get her to calm down as he was worried about the effects of stress on the baby, this late in her pregnancy.

"It's not..." She whimpered as she covered her eyes with her hands , only to gasp as her stomach tensed.

He pulled her fully into his lap , allowing her to press her face into his chest.

"Shhh you need to calm down , the doctor said that stress can make the braxton hicks worse , if your heart rate gets any higher you could go into early labour , now follow my breathing ok ?"

He held her to his chest , her ear to his heart and led her in slow rhythmic breathing. He could feel cub's movements and how firm her stomach was between them.

When he felt like her breathing was in a much safer rythmn , he spoke as he reached for his wand.

"Do you want to tell me what the Dunderhead did, or said ?" He flicked a reparo at the lamp but it was too far gone , so vanished it with a sneer. "Other than kill my poor defenceless lamp ?"

"He didn't do anything...not really" She whispered. "I'm sorry about your lamp"

He snorted "No you're not, you hated that lamp" was said dryly.

"You've got me there" She added with an almost smile.

"In fact I wouldn't be surprised if you moved it into the way on purpose" He added , hoping to lighten the mood a little.

It worked , and she let out a small laugh. "Sadly not , the fates just agree with me that you have horrible taste in decorative lighting"

Chuckling he placed a kiss on top of her head.

"Tell me " He said softly into her hair. "So I know whether or not I need to hex him properly when I rennervate him"

She was quite for a few moments , before she buried her face into his chest so he couldn't look at her as she spoke.

"He was just teasing me...about _us_...about us being more than friends...about...  _sex_ "

She took a moment to collect herself there , with a few deep breaths and he just held her , continuing to rub circles on her back.

"When I said that we  _hadn't_...he wanted to know  _why._..I said I was  _scared_ , after everything...he was just teasing me but... he didn't know , about what Ron did that day...he knew he hit me but that was it. It thought Lucius and Narcissa would've told him, when he found out he wanted to kill him , and that's when he broke the lamp"

He nodded his head in understanding , the boy had meant no ill will, but sometimes lacked the connector between his mouth and his brain.

"Lucius and Narcissa would not betray your trust , they probably thought that any  _intimate_  details , were yours' to decide whether to share or not"

She nodded into his chest , breathing the scent of him in. Then a thought struck him , and he spoke.

"You're scared of me?" He said softly , and she froze. "No! Not at all...Please don't think that !"

Rubbing his hands down her arms to soothe her, he gestured for her to continue.

"I-I told Draco , that I do want to be with you... _intimately._..and I had wanted to at least once  _before_  cub's born but...I'm just scared of..."

Cupping her face in his palm, he gently wiped her tears with his thumb. "...of?" he questioned.

 _"sex_ " she said softly and dropped her eyes, unable to meet his gaze. "I know we've  _never._..but you sleep next to me , and from what I can tell you're a lot more...well  _more_." She finished lamely "And with Ronald it always hurt and I'm...I'm  _scared._  scared that I'm too frigid to enjoy it , and that it'll hurt  _more_  because..." She made a vague hand gesture in the direction of his crotch, and he had to fight back the masculine pride, in favour of comforting her.

"Hermione...I believe there's a muggle saying, something about 'It's not size that matters, it's what you do with it' , what that  _cretin_  did **_to_**  you , and what we would do together, if you so wished us to , would be two entirely different things...worlds apart"

He cupped her face in both his hands, to make her look at him. "What he did to you was  _rape"_ She flinched at the word , and tried to turn away but he wouldn't allow it. "Hermione look at me" Reluctantly she brought her tearful eyes back to his.

"I know you're labouring under the misapprehension that a husband cannot rape his wife... that rape is something that only happens to pretty girls in dark alleys by total strangers, but it's not true. Husbands can and do rape their wives, and I should know as I'm most likely the product of such an altercation"

She sucked a breath in at that , and gave him a sorrowful look, but he waived off her concern for the moment.

"Rape is not about love, it's not about sex, it's about power. Power and consent. Rapists want power, and they do so by taking what they want without consent"

"Hermione, when you lost your virginity to Ronald...were you ready ?"

"It was our wedding night..."

"That's not what I asked... were you ready, did you want to have sex ?"

"No" She spoke softly.

"And what happened ?" He asked gently.

"I t-told Ronald that I wasn't ready , but he said we had to as it was our wedding night...so I just..."

"Went along with it ?"

"Yes." she admitted.

"Then that is rape, not sex"

"But I didn't fight him" She whispered sadly

"You may not have fought , but you did not consent. Bowing to pressure or coercion is not consent Hermione, you did not want to be intimate with him ,you told him as such but he pressured you into doing it anyway , that is not sex it is  _rape_ "

"When you spoke to Matthias, you spoke about times that Ronald had been  _rough_  with you , and others when he'd made you engage in _other_  sex acts...did you want or ask for any of those?"

"No" She said emphatically , shaking her head.

"Did you tell him to stop ? Ask him not to?"

"Yes"

"And again, he made you do it anyway?"

"He was my husband, men have needs..."

"And so that gives him the right to take control of your body autonomy ? to ignore it when you say no or ask him to stop?"

She was crying openly now and holdy tightly onto him.

" _He had no right_  to do what he did to you , husband or not, that man ignored your wishes and engaged in sexual acts with you ,  _without your consent_. That. is.  **rape** "

"Every morning since I've had you in my bed, I've woke up with such a raging hard-on that I've had to go and take care of it in the bathroom...what I did not do is expect you to do something about it , because 'men have needs' "

Looking earnestly into her eyes , he spoke as sincerely as he could.

"As far as I believe, you've never had sex. Everything you've ever experienced from that boy is tantamount to assault or rape. If we were to  _make love_  , it would be entirely different. And It would be because we both want to and we both consent to it, not because you feel like you owe me anything or that my needs come above yours, do you understand?"

Her bottom lip trembled and tears fell from her eyes , as she offered him a watery smile and nodded.

"I love you." He whispered softly into her hair. "I would never, _ever_  do anything to hurt you.  _either of you_ , that I promise"

Her heart lurched into her throat and she met his eyes dead on.

"I love you too Severus"

Then she reached up and gently, tentatively, placed her lips on his.

It was the slowest, softest, sweetest kiss he'd ever had.

Made all the more sweeter by the declaration they'd just made to each other for the first time.

When they broke apart Cub gave an almighty kick in between them which made her gasp and him chuckle.

Urging her to lean back against the sofa, he pulled her shirt up and laid a soft kiss on her belly.

"and I love you too little one"

* * *

He rennervated Draco who spent the next half hour apologising profusely to her, before they went back to their planning on the room to help take her mind off things.

By the time Severus finished his brewing, and they sat down to their takeaway meal, Draco and Hermione had decided on a shade of white,  _Chalk white_  apparently. And the room was going to be done in a mixture of Chalk white, dove grey and paris grey. _  
Honestly whatever happened to light grey or dark grey ?_

They were going for a _shabby chic_  look, he was told. With rustic real painted woods, rather than the cheaper chipboard style pieces.

It would look tasteful and not gaudy, All the while still being unisex, as despite having another scan , cub was still holding out on them in regards to gender.

They'd ordered the paints for the room, as well as some furniture paints in case they couldn't find the furniture in the exact _shade of white or grey_  they wanted, and Severus rolled his eyes at that.

Apparently they'd ordered some sample books as well so they could look at fabric and paint swatches for the rest of the house.

She said goodbye to him and was once more apologised to , before she headed up to bed.

Draco waited until she was gone , before turning to Severus.

"Whatever you're planning, I want in."

Severus merely raised his eyebrow. "Who says I'm planning anything"

A snort was his answer. "Touche"

"Well ? Who do you have already"

"Your father and Gringotts. We also have an in with the Daily Prophet"

"I saw the articles and wondered how you'd managed that, Skeeter always hated Granger. Well...now you have an in with Mungo's too."

" I daresay that will come in useful. Until next time Draco"

They shook hands and shared a look that spoke of vengeance.

* * *

She had a nightmare that night , not surprising really considering the events of the day.

He woke her up as she was screaming and crying , but was not prepared for what happened next.

As her eyes shot open and her panicked amber orbs met his onyx ones , he was suddenly pulled into her memory.

* * *

_Every day that went by, with no movement from her baby, her little one growing inside her , made her fear more and more that something was wrong._

_That something was wrong with her baby , the one she had a duty to protect._

_She was tired, and hungry and her heart ached. An ache that was a physical part of her, a constant pain in her chest._

_She was so hungry, but Ron hadn't liked the weight she'd put on. He'd wanted a child so much , even though she wasn't ready. Then she got pregnant, even though she was on a contraceptive potion. It shouldn't have been possible , though she knew what had happened. He'd watered it down , the last time she took it , it had tasted the same but somehow weaker. She'd not said anything at the time , not wanting to anger him but a part of her knew. From then on she made sure to take it before he got home but it was too late. When she found out she was pregnant , she was afraid and not ready...but she'd agreed to keep it because he'd been so happy about it._

_It hadn't lasted long, as soon as she began to show he began to complain about her size. He was quite pleased with her chest filling out more, but when she became so sensitive she'd began to cry at his rough handling, he'd just gotten more angry. It hadn't stopped him though._

_He'd wanted her pregnant , but not **fat.** He mocked her stretch marks , calling them ugly and said he hated the way her nipples had got larger and darker, gross he'd said._

_The sex was just as horrible as always , he called her frigid. He'd shove his thick fingers inside her, and she'd try not to cry out in pain, though she often couldn't help it when he'd push his cock inside her dry entrance soon after "God you're so frigid Hermione, here I am working my ass off with foreplay and fingering you first and you don't even get the slightest bit wet, there's something wrong with you, I don't know why I bother"_

_As time went on with no movement from her baby , she tried to beg off sex as often as she could , though it usually went on deaf ears._

_When he'd come home drunk would be the worse , but he always apologised the next day. "I'm sorry Mione, you should know better than to wind me up when I've been drinking, what do you expect?"_

_When he'd taken her the day she was spotting, when she thought she was miscarrying , he'd forced her over the table and ignored her sobs as she screamed and bled._

_She'd curled up in the bathroom, bleeding, sobbing and healing herself until she cried herself to sleep._

_He'd come in the next morning with a cup of tea for her. "You don't have to be so dramatic mione, I know some women say it can be a bit sore the first time but god I could hear you from the bedroom. If it hurt you should just try to relax more next time"_

_That was the first day she began holding the note from Severus._

_She'd looked at it many times , at first she'd wondered why he'd given it to her, but as time went on she knew._

_Every day after that day , she would take the note out. She'd unravel it, read it, hold it. Pray for the strength to go. And eventually put it back._

_She tried to hint to Ginny and Harry how bad things were getting, but Ginny had been angry and Harry didn't care._

_Harry'd been so wrapped up in his own sorrows after the war , it'd turned him into a bitter man, gone was the boy she'd love._

_Ginny had been offended , by the mere insinuation. "Everyone knows you can be over the top Hermione, you used to nag us all the time , I mean for gods sake **you splinched Ron**  in the war and he lost his brother , and now you're moaning because he gets angry when you're constantly nagging him? You don't even have to work anymore , because Ron took on more hours to support you and the baby...anyone else would be thankful and you're moaning over lovers quarrels, honestly you don't deserve him"_

_Remembering the Easter egg incident, she didn't even try to get in contact with Molly._

_Things all came crashing down that night when he came home._

_He'd found her holding that piece of paper._

_It had become her talisman , she held it to make her calm. She'd decided that day that it was enough. Her baby was 6 months old and yet to move, she needed a doctor , she didn't want her baby growing up with Ronald as a father , thinking that it was ok to treat your partner like that._

_He'd seen as far as the name and flown off the handle. Insinuating that she'd been sleeping with "That greasy git"._

_He hit her, and for the first time ever she hit him back._

_He'd not been as physically violent with her since she hit her 3rd trimester and she was terrified of what the rough treatment would do , so she hit hit back. Slapped him._

_It was a very bad desciscion. She reached for her wand but he was quicker, and snapped it._

_Slamming her against the wall she cried out as she felt her palms and stomach become cut on the rough stone wall. Hearing his belt buckled she desperately tried to keep her legs shut, but failed when a heavy booted foot kicked her ankles apart and a sickening wave of pain came when she heard a crack from her ankle._

_He forced himself inside of her roughly and she screamed as she felt herself tearing at his intrusion , his body weight pushed her into the rough stone wall of the cottage and she could feel the grit embedding itself in her hands and stomach as she tried her best to push herself away from the wall, afraid of crushing the baby in her stomach._

_As he finished he bit her hard on her shoulder and she cried out once more._

_There was a fury in his eyes as he looked at her , and as she crumpled to the floor she saw him raise his booted foot._

_He was going to kick her stomach, she knew it and she felt it._

_In a second she'd grabbed the paper, her talisman, her lifeline and prayed. Prayed she'd not splinch herself or the baby. prayed she was not too late. Prayed she would be able to do this without a wand._

_She apparated away._

* * *

"Oh my love" he whispered and pulled her into his arms and she sobbed.

"You're safe, Cub is Safe, you did it Hermione...you kept your baby safe. You're both mine now, I will love you and protect you"

He held her, soothed her and rocked her as she cried herself to sleep in his arms.

_It was time to put the next part of the plan in action , oh yes... the next couple of weeks would see many interesting headlines._

* * *

**MONDAY - BREAKING NEWS: Ronald Weasley fired from Auror's office and banned for LIFE from Gringotts after being found guilty of FRAUD. Pension and Wages all confiscated towards money STOLEN from EX WIFE Granger's Order of Merlin !**

**..**

**WEDNESDAY - Disgraced Ronald Weasley arrested after drunken brawl in the three broomsticks, bailed out by sister Ginerva Potter.**

**..**

**FRIDAY - Ronald Weasley Photographed Slapping ex flame Lavendar Brown during argument, is this why beloved war heroine Hermione Granger left him ?**

**..**

**SUNDAY - ST MUNGO'S EXCLUSIVE ! Mediwitch found to be strongly confunded, says she recalled treating a witch matching the description of Hermione Granger for bruises, contusions and broken bones... matching domestic abuse. Concerns grow for whereabouts of war heroine.**

**..**

**TUESDAY - Hermione Granger FOUND ! Pregnant Granger is "Safe and Cared for" by esteemed war Hero Severus Snape , could this be a budding romance ? Wizarding world offers well wishes for well matched duo.**

**..**

**WEDNESDAY - BREAKING NEWS! RONALD WEASLEY ON THE RUN ! Violent Wife Beater Ronald Weasley skips probation, also skips town? Order of Merlin retracted as Disturbed Weasley is found guilty of grievous bodily harm, as more witches come forward. Weasley flees wizengamot after hexing aurors. Wizarding World Saviour Harry Potter is fined and given workplace warning for refusing to help capture long time friend.**

**If you have any information on the wherabouts of one Ronald Billius Weasley , contact the DMLE.**

**Weasley is to be considered armed and dangerous , and the Aurors ask that you do not attempt to apprehend him yourself.**


	17. Chapter 17

_**~ Long Awaited Lemons ~** _

_**(Also minor taboo, if you're squicked by pregnant sex then skip the end of this chapter)** _

* * *

She was well into her 8th month of pregnancy now , and the two of them (well...three) were closer than ever.

Every night she snuggled close into his arms , and he would spend the night giving whatever magic he could spare to cub , and on nights when he was too exhausted to share any , he would pillow his head on her belly and talk, hum or on occasion quietly sing. (Though only when she was asleep.)

Hermione would run her hands through his hair and hum to him , soothing him even as he soothed the baby.

Since the night of her admission to Draco , and her subsequent nightmare, they'd become as close as two people could be.

Minus one thing. They'd yet to physically consummate their relationship, though in every other sense they were a well established couple.

They kissed frequently , held hands and snuggled together , talked about plans for the future and even spoke occasionally and subtly of plans for marriage.

But as much as Severus would have loved to take her to his bed, for more than just sleep, he was not about to push her for anything and would happily wait as long as it took for her to make the move.

* * *

Between her and Draco they'd gotten cub's room ready , and had moved on to the master bathroom, the one that joined onto their bedroom.

Thankfully they have muggles you can hire for that sort of thing, and after Severus spent a day stripping the old master bathroom out and magically extending the room , a muggle came and measured and designed the whole bathroom for them around Hermione's specifications, and as cost was not an issue it was fitted in a matter of days.

He was exceedingly pleased with it , as it had one of those large corner baths with the fancy jets that were big enough for two people, along with his and hers sink and one of those very fancy muggle showers. Living in a muggle house , it had made sense to have the boiler replaced , and running out of cold water became a thing of the past , as well as having to constantly charm the water hotter.

Also the deep blacks and slate greys made it a very  _masculine_  room, however Hermione said she liked it anyway, she'd designed it after all and that was good enough for him.

On the day he'd stripped the bathroom out , once more the muggle way, he'd walked into the bedroom covered in plaster dust and grime not realising that Hermione was in the middle of getting changed.

He stood frozen in shock in the doorway , at the sight of her.

She was wearing the lacy bra and knickers set he'd bought her and her skin was a soft pale pink , like peaches and cream.

Her hair fell in soft curls around her shoulders , the tips reaching her breasts which were larger and heavy.

Her belly was large and swollen with the weight of cub, who'd began to carry low lately, making her back ache. She had her hand upon the swell of her stomach , and was humming gently to cub who'd been very active lately. She was smiling warmly , a beautiful, honest and maternal smile.

The knickers she wore only accentuated the lush curve of her arse , and glorious thighs that he'd love to wrap around his waist. Or shoulders.

And legs that seemed impossibly long and sensual for such a slight girl , finished with her adorable little feet.

She was glorious. Madonna with child , and he felt the sudden urge to paint her, sculpt her or photograph her , just do  _something_  to preserve this moment.

He must have gasped or made a noise, because she suddenly turned and looked at him with her eyes wide.

Suddenly he was disgusted with himself. Here he was, her partner and protector , who'd promised to look after her after everything she'd been through and he was leering at her like some pervert.

He quickly averted his eyes, full of self loathing.

"I'm sorry , I didn't know you were in here, I'm going to shower and just wanted to grab my clothes"

"I-it's alright, I'm sorry , I'm nearly done"

She quickly shucked the rest of her clothes on and left the room with a blush on her face.

* * *

As the days went on, he couldn't control his curiosity as to why she'd been so emphatic about wanting to be with him intimately, _before_  cub was born but then had yet to make a move.

Her due date was in three weeks , around the first week of January , which meant Christmas was only just over a week away.

According to the obstetrician, everything was coming along nicely but she'd been acting extremely strange in the past week or so , alternating between kissing him until his toes curled , to flinching and pushing him away and crying in the new bathroom. She blamed it on the hormones.

That night, they'd gone to bed and she'd been in one of her particularly  _'clingy'_  moods.

Laid in bed, him on his back and her on her side tucked into his ribs they'd kissed, and held each other close when he'd felt a change in her.

They parted their kiss, but instead of settling down to go to sleep, with her head pillowed on his chest, as was their norm, she looked deep into his eyes.

He gazed back, her eyes were dilated and she was breathing heavily , her hands cupped his cheek and she pulled him down for another kiss instead.

This was more intense than the last kiss they'd shared , and began to fan a flame inside him as her hand moved from his cheek to his chest.

There was a small fireplace in the bedroom , which he was in the habit of lighting. So despite it being winter, the room was warm and he'd taken to sleeping bare chested once more, when he was certain it didn't bother Hermione.

Clearly it didn't anyway, as her hand was currently stroking his chest which was making his body react to her presence.

She'd become used to him becoming hard around her , and had told him she didn't mind , which meant he could enjoy waking up beside her, and having a morning snog, and not having to sneak / hobble to the bathroom for a cold shower or quick wank, without waking her.

Despite her acceptance, she'd yet to engage with his body and he was of no mind to push her.

Though it looked like she might have decided to take matters into her own hands.

_Literally._

As while simultaneously kissing him, the hand that was stroking his chest began petting him gently all the way from his chest to his stomach, causing his stomach muscles to tense and jump as her hand got closer to the waistband of his extremely tented sweat pants, causing the bulge to twitch.

He broke the kiss to groan into her mouth , when her fingers slipped below the waistband to teasingly curl into the hair at his groin.

"Gods I love you Hermione...that feels sooo good , but  _please_  don't do anything you don't want to do..." She only hummed and kissed him deeper , which he willingly gave.

He went to turn on his side to get closer to her so he could reciprocate her actions , but her hand on his shoulder stopped him , so he contented himself to just lay back and go with whatever she'd decided to do.

She began to kiss his jaw and down his neck and just as her hand reached beneath his waistline to grasp him , she dropped a biting kiss on the scar on his neck.

Moaning her name in ecstasy he thrust his hips into her hands to show his approval of her actions.

"Fuck Hermione that's so good , that feels soo good"

Her hand continued to stroke him while her lips continued to kiss his neck and jaw.

Tugging on his cock she began tp speak "You're so handsome Severus, I love looking at your chest...and you feel so big" She whispered into his jaw before kissing it , and he could only moan in delight at her words and arch further into her touch.

_Fuck. When was the last time a woman had done this for him?  
_ _**Had**  a woman done this for him ?  
_ _Short of a few dirty words and customary pumps for getting him hard enough to fuck ?  
_ _Had any woman ever just complimented him?  
_ _touched him to give him pleasure ?_

He was shocked to realise the answer was no.

It seemed that she needed to be reassured , as often as he needed to reassure her, just how much he was enjoying her actions.

As she continued the slow and gentle wank on his cock , so much slower than if he'd done it himself but at the same time so much sweeter , she was continuously asking if it was alright, if it felt good , if he was enjoying it.

Lost in the pleasure of her actions, there was little he could do to keep back the litany of praise and assurances he was spewing out at an alarming rate.

"Is this OK ?"

_"God yes , yes it's so good"_

"You like that ?"

_"Fuck yes ,fuck yes I like that"_

"It feels good ? "

_"So good, so fucking good"_

They continued on this way until he felt his muscles clench and toes curl , and knew he was getting close.

 _"Gonna cum"_ he groaned , and she quickly pulled him into a kiss.

Her hand didn't stop it's movements as they kissed deeply and passionately.

He wanted to taste her , taste every inch of her ...but he settled for teasing her tongue with his.

When she gasped , he used the opportunity to slip his tongue into her mouth and moaned.

She moaned back when his tongue caressed her , and her grip got a little tighter and faster on his cock and he rocked into it.

 _"Fuck girl you're glorious"_  he moaned into her mouth before kissing her deeper.

The warning lurch in his balls had him pushing the waistband of his trousers down , until his cock was exposed , not wanting to make a mess of his trousers.

With a gasp , she broke away from his kiss and rested her head on his chest to watch his completion as she continued pumping his length.

The way she bit her lip and watched her hand on his cock through hooded eyes, was all it took to have him lurching into orgasm.

"fuck...fuck... _fuck_... _now_  love...it's now" he groaned and then his back was arching and she let out a little gasp as his cum coated her hand and his belly in thick spurts.

He was panting, sweating and swearing under his breath and she was trembling at the side of him.

He knew she was highly aroused, he could tell how wet she was as the air was heady with the scent of her arousal.

He reached to slip his hand under her shirt, to caress her skin, and she flinched back and dropped her gaze.

"I'm sorry love, I don't want to push you if you're not ready, I just wanted to please you" He said...  _was she not ready? She's been so...well...horny, over the past few days and her body language...had he fucked up ?_

"It's OK Severus you don't have to" She whispered sadly, and buried her face in his chest as she cast a cleansing charm over his belly.

"What do you mean , I don't have to ? I want to..." He attempted to tip her chin up to look at him , but she fought him once more and buried her face in his chest.

Tucking himself back into his trousers, he turned to face her.

"Hermione, look at me"

She shook her head and buried it in his chest once more.

"Hermione what do you mean, that I don't have to ? surely you can tell how much I desire you ? I would love to pleasure you"

"You've been so good to me , to us" She whispered, and it was slightly mumbled as she spoke into his chest. "I won't make you do something, that disgusts you"

"Disgusts me ?! Hermione, how could you ever disgust me ? I love you"

Her look said she thought otherwise.

"Hermione , love"

He made her look at him and his heart clenched to see tears in her eyes.

"If I've said or done something to make you think that...I don't! And I'm truly sorry , what would ever make you think I thought that ?"

Her face crumpled as she dropped her gaze from his.

"I saw the way you looked at me , when you caught me changing"

_Fuck. He had upset her._

"I'm sorry about that. I didn't mean to-"

"-You were disgusted when you saw me"

_What the fuck?_

"I saw it in your face and I don't want to make you touche if I disgust you"

She was truly upset , eyes wet with tears and sniffling.

He groaned.

"Hermione, I was disgusted-"

She let out a little sob , and he pulled her to him.

"-at myself. for leering at you like some pervert."

Shocked amber eyes met his then.

"I saw you there and you were...glorious. Beautiful. I couldn't stop staring at you , thinking how much I wanted you but then you saw me and you were so shocked , I was disgusted with myself for taking advantage of you , after everything that you've been through"

She looked on at him , shock clear in her eyes.

"You're not disgusted by me ? " She whimpered in a soft voice.

"Not at all...it takes all my self control not to throw you over my shoulder like a caveman and carry you to my bed, every time I look at you."

"You...really want me ?"

"Really." He assured her.

"In point of fact-"

"Shut up." She'd pounced on him then , kissing him passionately and it was all he could do not to swoon like some blushing virgin.

The kisses were deep , passionate and fiery and they were both panting.

"I'm sorry...I'm sorry you thought..." He gasped out between breaths , but she silenced him once more by pulling the jumper over her head, leaving her in just a bra and knickers.

What he was saying was lost in a groan , as he fell upon her , self control finally snapping.

He kissed her savagely and her hot little mewls were not helping he regain the tatters of his control.

When he began kissing her jaw , neck and collarbone, her hands fisted in his hair and pulled him lower.

He went willingly , kissing, licking and biting at her chest.

It was only natural that he cupped the heavy weight of her breast in his hand.

Her back arched into him and she moaned in approval as he mouthed her through the soft fabric , when she suddenly pushed him back.

Fearing he'd gone too far , he raised himself up on his hands , only to groan in delight when she reached around and unfastened the bra before removing it.

Once off , she reached for him again and he went willingly.

He tried to be gentle with her , he knew her breasts had been sensitive lately , but they were just so enticing and he couldn't help cupping the weight in his hand and nuzzling at her pert nipples.

She gasped , and it wasn't in pain , as she grabbed him by the hair and urged him on.

Mouth watering , he looked up at her for permission before he moved any further.

A gasped "please" , and her hooded gaze was his answer.

He nuzzled her with his nose , before latching on to her nipple and suckling at her, her responce was instantaneous.

She moaned low and deep and the hand in his hair held him tighter and pulled him close. He was thankful he could breath through his nose , because there was no way she was letting go , and he had no inclination to either.

Her back was taught like a bowstring ,and his hand stroked up her thighs, which fell open at his touch.

"Please...please Severus... I  _need_  you " She gasped desperately.

"Shhh I have you my love" He whispered into her chest , before changing his attention to her other neglected nipple.

His hand began to rub her gently through her knickers and she cried out , as she pulled him closer to her chest.

He teased at the edge of her knickers, giving her time to protest and when she didn't he began to tug them down her legs.

Raising her hips up, she helped him get them down her legs and off her.

As soon as they were off, she was pulling him back to her chest.

He wondered vaguely if she usually like such attentions, or if some unknown instinct was pulling at her , telling her to encourage his attentions as he lavished attention at her breasts.

All rational thoughts escaped him with a groan as his fingers found her bare cunt.

Gods. She was warm , wet and so soft he just wanted to bury himself in her.

His fingers slipped between her lips and found her hard little clit , and he began to agitate it.

She cried out , tears escaping from her eyes as her back arched.

"PLEASE!" Escaped her lips , as he moaned into her breast.

"Please don't stop...I feel... I"

"What ? What do you feel love, tell me ?" He groaned into her breasts.

"Like ... Like my breasts...and my clit are connected... every time you touch one I feel it in the other , and when you touch me and suck me it just pools in my belly like... I ...OH"

At her declaration he'd palmed her breast with his free hand, and sucked the nipple hard into his mouth , pressing with his tongue as his fingers circled her clit persistently.

"Oh...oh...oh..." her breath was coming in gasps.

"Fuck yes" he growled and swapping his finger on her clit for his thumb, he slipped a finger inside her.

She cried out and thrust her hips into him , and he took that for encouragment, slipping another digit inside her , until he had two long fingers inside her and his thumb on her clit.

"Like that love.." He breathed into her nipple and she nodded, still desperately clutching him to her breast.

She was flushed and sweating , her eyes dilated and her hips churning into him.

"I...I think..."

"Are you going to come for me love ?"

"I...think so...I've never..."

"Never?" he groaned

"No..."

Suddenly he was a man possessed. He  _had_  to make her cum. He needed it.

He took her nipple deep into his mouth , and used his free hand to tease the other.

Rubbing firm circles on her clit with his thumb , he crooked his fingers inside her to agitate her G-spot.

"OH ! OH Severus! There !"

_Got you._

She was shaking like a livewire under him , and suddenly her whole body tensed as she groaned low and deep.

It was an animal sound, and made his head roar.

Her cunt spasmed around his fingers, gripping him tight and her hand fisted in his hair keeping him at her breast.

They both gasped when the end of her orgasm brought a totally new sensation to both of them, a blessed release for her along with a sweet taste in his mouth.

He pulled back a little to observe as a pearly white substance had started to drip from the breast he'd just vacated.

"Fuck" She whispered , " My milk's come in...I...I'm sorry" She looked upset and mortified , but at the same time her body was straining towards him as if some invisible force was pulling them together

"Don't be , you're glorious" He lowered himself back down, before realising he should probably check with her first. 

"May I...?" 

She bit her lip and nodded.."Only if you want to"

He wrapped his lips around her and began to nurse at her breast , while his hands stoked a new fire between her legs.

"God...that's so erotic" She moaned "I feel it ....it's like it's going straight to my womb and my clit.."

"You taste divine" He growled at her , and she was right , it was so fucking erotic but so comforting to him at the same time , as she gazed down at him with eyes full of love and adoration and ran her hands through his hair.

She was building quickly again , her hormones running through her body and blood rushing to her pussy meant she was so over sensitised ,it wouldn't take much to bring her to another peak.

"Severus..." She gasped and his eyes met hers.

"Make love to me"

* * *

**Ok , flame me if you want about the sex scene , but it was quite clear they were going to have sex while she was pregnant , did you really think that it wouldn't happen ?**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN: If certain aspects of pregnant sex in the last chapter bothered you , definitely skip this one.**

* * *

_She was building quickly again , her hormones running through her body and blood rushing to her pussy meant she was so over sensitised ,it wouldn't take much to bring her to another peak._

_"Severus..." She gasped and his eyes met hers._

_"Make love to me"_

* * *

When he could think again , he spoke gently to her.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes, Please Severus I want to be with you "

Her eyes were dilated , lips swollen from kisses and she was panting heavily.

He moved from his position at her chest,  _reluctantly - I'll get back to you later_ he thought to himself, and moved to kiss her instead.

She melted into his kisses with a mewl , and there was a small ripple from her stomach between them.

Placing his hand gently there on her stomach he whispered "Is it safe ?" then dropped short , sweet kisses on her lips.

She placed her hand on top of his. "Yes, I checked with the Doctor" She breathed out with a sigh as she returned the little pecks on his lips.

"Anything I need to know ?" He asked softly , stroking her belly for emphasis.

"Just don't be  _rough_ with me " She whispered as she buried a kiss in his neck.

He knew it was just her way of avoiding his eyes.

 _"Never"_  he said emphatically as he tipped her chin up , forcing her to meet his gaze.

They kissed more languidly, relaxing into the bed.

 _Now what to do..._ He thought. Up until this point he'd not considered the actual  _mechanics_  of being intimate with a heavily pregnant witch. She was too big , and he too large for them to be able to do the missionary. After most of the experiences she'd had with her bastard ex husband, he wouldn't take her from behind or on her knees until she was comfortable with him.  _So where did that leave him ?_

Suddenly he knew. And not just knew, he wanted it desperately.

He pulled back from her and sat upright on the bed, so that with the aid of a few cushions he was propped up against the headboard.

He pulled her with him until she was knelt straddling his upper thighs.

Nervous at first, she flushed a little and raised herself off him "I'm too heavy"

"Nonsense" He growled into her lips and pulled her hips down until they were touching.

She moaned and kissed back, but when she felt his cock jump against her she whimpered.

"I don't want to hurt you , I don't know what I'm doing...I never..."

"I'll guide you" He cut her off when he kissed her thoroughly , until she was mewling into his mouth and writhing against him.

Her skin was hot against his , and she was so wet he could feel her drenching his upper thighs.

Grasping her hips , he spread and raised his knees a little by planting his feet on the bed , giving her a little something to lean back against, Grateful for years of lifting heavy cauldrons, giving him strong and defined abdominal muscles, enough to support both of them despite the slight strain on him in this position.

"Are you sure ?" He asked once more , and she nodded with hooded eyes, biting her lip.

Groaning at the picture she made, he encouraged her to wrap her arms around his neck and spread her legs , bringing her moist centre in contact with his cock.

They both groaned at the sensation , and she grasped him tightly before flinching at letting it go.

He grasped her arms and replaced them at his neck. "Hold onto me , do not strain yourself , I have you...I shall always have you"

They were pressed flush together, foreheads touching and dropping gentle kisses on each others lips.

As close as they would have been in missionary, but without his weight atop her.

His hand reached between them , to grasp the base of his cock.

"Ready love ?"

They were so close , it was as though he was speaking the words directly to her lips.

"Yes" her whimper returned "make me yours , Severus"

With a deep and passionate kiss , he pressed himself into her .

"Ohh! That's...that feels...oh!""

He swallowed her surprised moan of pleasure , and thanked all the deities he'd already cum, because if he hadn't the feeling of finally being at one with her , and that erotic little noise would have been the end of him.

Christ she was hot , and wet and tight. Her flesh already aroused and swollen from the pregnancy and her last orgasm.

"Hold onto me" He groaned , and felt her arms around his neck tighten their grasp.

Cupping her arse with both his hands, he encouraged her in a gentle rising and rocking movement of her hips.

"Put it all on me, let me have it. I've got you"

After a few thrusts in this position , each one bringing out a surprised pleasure filled exclamation , moan or whimper from her , she finally realised that she was not going to squash him , and allowed the powerful man beneath her to support her fully with the strong muscles of his neck , arms and back.

When he felt her relax fully into his embrace he picked up the motion between them, making her breath hitch enticingly.

"See? I've got you my girl"

There were no words to be said between them , for they could convey everything with just the heated looks between them.

Their sweat slicked foreheads were pressed together , and they alternated between scorching hot kisses, breathless moans and urgent whimpers.

Never breaking eye contact until her moans started to become more frequent, higher pitched and beginning to catch in her throat.

When he felt a warmth on his chest , where her breasts were pressed into him , she gasped in need and threw her head back , her arms around his neck fisting in his hair and urging him forward.

"Severus  _Please_  "

_Say no more my love._

With a delighted groan he latched on to her breast , and felt her hands tighten in his hair until it was borderline painful.

When the sweet taste filled his mouth once more , he felt dizzy with desire for this woman in his arms, and as his ardour raised with every one of their combined motions , he once more felt that primal pull that had filled him , so many nights ago.

"You're mine" he practically growled around her nipple.

"Yes!" She gasped and felt her thighs trembling as she attempted to increase the tempo between them.

Grasping her arse more firmly , and vaguely thinking about how sore his abs were going to be tomorrow , he increased the speed between them , his lips never letting go of her lush chest , where he was alternating between both nipples.

"Mine...Say it..." he growled

"Yes..." She gasped and he saw the flush rising on her skin.

"No...SAY it...you're mine" was panted into her chest.

"Yours...yours...Severus"

"Yes" He hissed , and remembering the thoughts from that first night of holding her he spoke

"You're mine to cherish, mine to care for , mine to protect"

"Yes...yes Severus I'm yours" she gasped and he could see the pleasure building in her.

"No" He snapped "Not you"

"Not... ?" She met his eyes with confusion.

"BOTH of you" He grunted out , one hand releasing her arse to settle on her stomach.

"You're both mine...say it!" He groaned.

He practically saw her pleasure peaking at his possessive words , as she practically screamed her responce in the affirmative as she crested around him

"YOURS! ...Severus we're...yours...oh...oh... _oh!_...yes... _I think_.. _.I think..._ I'm... ** _SEVERUS!_** "

"MINE!" He growled as she clenched around him in orgasm, She mewled and he kissed her so hard he drew blood, though we wasn't sure whose. He grabbed her hips and held her flush to him, causing her to shudder around him as he felt himself cresting and cumming, primal male instinct telling him to keep shooting his essence as deep inside of her as he could, as he simultaneously pushed his magic through his palm on her belly as he had so many times before.

She collapsed against him , and utterly spent he collapsed back too, until he was flat on his back and she was laid upon him.

Both panting exhausted, physically and mentally, and Severus also magically after gifting his strength to them...Unbidden the words escaped him.

"Marry me"

Exhausted amber eyes snapped to him.

"S-severus?"

"Marry me. Now. This week, before christmas. Marry me"

Propping herself up on his chest she met his gaze more clearly "Are you serious ?"

"Yes. I find I've never been more serious in my life"

They both smirked at that, for he must be very and truly serious for it to be the most serious he'd ever been, as serious was how he spent most of his life.

Unable to summon the strength to accio what he was searching for , he instead reached over into the bedside drawer and pulled out a small box.

"I'd planned on waiting until after cub was born..."

She covered her mouth with her hands, when she saw the box in his hands.

"...But I cannot. cannot wait. cannot wait to claim you both as my own."

Tears dripped down her face as he held her other hand.

"Accept this, my grandmother's ring... and Marry me. Before cub is born. Then put my name on the muggle birth certificate, give the baby my surname and take it for yourself aswell"

She couldn't bring herself to speak so she just nodded.

"Yes?" He smiled at her and she choked out a sob and threw her arms around him , kissing him passionately until he pulled back with a hiss.

She looked at him questioningly , and he gestured to the split lip he'd gained from his exuberance earlier.

Blushing, smiling and crying she dropped a gentle kiss on his lips.

"Yes."

With a growl , he pulled her on top of him as she shrieked in happiness and he placed the ring on her finger.

* * *

They'd wed a few days later in a small ceremony in a lovely little muggle village on the outskirts of Manchester.

He'd wanted her to have whatever she wanted , expensive dress , reception , cars... but she hadn't wanted it.

"I've done that before Severus... it was all for show, and it just wasn't me...I have all that I want...you "

The Malfoys had attended, with Lucius being his best man and Hermione had jokingly dubbed Draco as her maid of honor, he'd pretended to pout and be put out when she'd added in "Well honey, to be fair you are wearing Dior..."

Both Neville and Luna Longbottom turned up, who she'd embraced with tears in her eyes.

Severus had encouraged her to get in contact with the pair , even though in her distress she'd feared Neville would side with Ron , and when she had been too afraid to , Severus himself had visited the pair behind her back, under the guise of a meeting with Lucius.

As they hugged , Neville had whispered in her ear "You were my first friend Hermione, and I will never forget that , I will ALWAYS be there for you...even if being brave enough to marry Snape makes you even more scary than him"

She'd wept into their hug and then swatted him away , saying that she was blaming him if she had to do her makeup again.

Luna had taken everything into her stride as usual, and had Hermione once again fighting tears when she'd casually told them what a good father Severus would be to their baby. Severus had blushed and at his glance, Hermione had quietly spoken to Luna, telling her that they'd planned to raise cub together even though Severus playing the role, he was not the father. She'd just looked at her in that Luna way, as though Hermione was totally daft and said, "Of course he is" which had made the both of them smile widely.

* * *

It was the day before Christmas eve, and Severus walked into the living room where Hermione was decorating the tree.

She was bathed in the warm glow of the lights , and he couldn't help but smile at her as he watched her humming as she went along.

He had a quick vision of many future Christmases together, Hermione humming along with a small baby on her hip decorating the tree, then pausing with her hand on her belly, the one with his ring on it. It took him a minute to realise that she had her hand on her belly because she was pregnant.

_And since when had he become such a caveman ? Wanting his woman, filled and ripe with his child ?_

But when he saw her smile warmly when she saw him , he couldn't help but file away that memory, to hopefully be revisited in the future.

"I have to step out love , a last minute errand at Gringotts before things get to hectic with Christmas eve, I should only be gone for a couple of hours but I can't be sure with the crowds , so best not wait up alright ?" he said as he dropped a kiss to her cheek.

It wasn't the first time he'd come home late, due to various tasks or jobs.

"You better be back in time to perform your husbandly duties" She joked with him huskily, as she turned his kiss on her cheek into a deep and passionate one.

Since the night they'd made love, she'd fully embraced the pregnancy hormone driven lust and was jumping him at all times of the day. Including going down the steps of the basement to his lab to forcibly throw a stasis charm over his cauldrons and drag him back upstairs.

Not that he was complaining. In fact he was pretty sure his abs were more defined than they'd ever been due to the vigorous workout they were getting , in what had come to be Hermione's favourite position, the one they had first joined in. Hermione definitely wasn't complaining and his abs had become one of her favourite places to stroke and drop kisses on him aswell. He was hoping she'd soon find the courage to venture a little bit further south with her stroking and kisses, and allow him to do the same. But in the meantime he was quite content with the stroking to his ego , when he took off his shirt and she would attempt to cover up her girlish swoon and commence fondling his bare chest.

Yes life was definitely good , and as he apparated to his destination after saying his goodbyes to his wife , he smiled as he realised how much better it was about to get.

Walking through the door with his companion, he smiled at the figure in front of him.

A terrible, vicious smile.

"Hello, Mr Weasley"

* * *

**Please review , and let me know what you think.**


	19. Chapter 19

**_AN: WARNING Graphic Torture and Gratuitous Violence, and Graphic content in this chapter..._ **

**_... it's what you all wanted right ?_ **

**_Right?_ **

**_...I may have got a teensy bit carried away with the torture._ **

* * *

_Yes life was definitely good , and as he apparated to his destination after saying his goodbyes to his wife , he smiled as he realised how much better it was about to get._

_Walking through the door with his companion, he smiled at the figure in front of him._

_A terrible, vicious smile._

_"Hello, Mr Weasley"_

* * *

The boy was chained to the wall, muggle style, gagged and trembling.

The fear that was in his eyes ramped up even further when he saw the two ex-deatheaters step into the light.

"Do you know why you're here Mr. Weasley ?"

Crying, the redhead shook his head desperately, though whether it was in denial of his actions or in denial of the reason , Severus didn't know.

He also didn't care.

Sneering he took in the crying boy.

_Fucking coward. They're all the same, all these men who beat their wives, cowardly bullies who break apart the first time they're confronted with someone stronger._

"You're here to answer for the treatment of your ex ...or more importantly, as of this week  _my wife_ "

The boy closed his eyes and shuddered then and Severus could see the large damp patch forming at the front of his blue jeans.

Lucius chuckled from where he was reclined casually against the wall , as Severus crinkled his nose in distaste at the smell of urine wafting from the boy.

"You were right Severus, that didn't take long, and you haven't even touched him yet. Damn now I owe you 50 Galleons."

Severus stalked closer to the boy , and he attempted to back up into the wall.

"Aren't you going to congratulate me on my wedding _boy_  ? I have a beautiful and intelligent young wife warming my bed at home. A wife who screams out my name in her pleasure when she rides my cock  _daily_  ,a wife ready to give birth to  ** _my_**  child any day now. She's studying to be an arithmancy mistress you know ? She's going to teach at Hogwarts , and she's so very  _happy_ "

Though still shaking in anger , Severus's taunting had hit the mark and there was an anger behind his eyes when Severus met them.

"Aah , there's that famous temper. Tell me, what is it that makes you angrier ? Is it that you didn't break her with your abuse ? That she's happy ? That her unborn child will grow with  _my_  name , calling  _me_  father ? Or is it that she's screams her pleasure around my cock when you were never  _man enough_  to satisfy her"

The anger was rising to the surface now , and Severus smirked at him.

"Oh yes, she told me all about it, how your pathetic and fumbling attempts failed to  _measure up_... she was such a nervous little thing the first time I fucked her , so worried what it would feel like to have a real man fuck her , and not some clumsy little boy and his angry inch"

His skin was so red now it practically matched his hair , and Severus saw his jaw move and his wand hand flick as he attempted to wandlessly hex him.

Only to stare wide eyed at his hand, when not so much as a spark happened.

Severus and Lucius chuckled , as the colour drained from the boys face, leaving him pale as a sheet bar freckles of course.

"Yes, funny that I forgot to mention that. This room has so many magic dampening wards keyed to your blood that you couldn't so much as levitate a feather in here if you had the elder wand."

Realisation filled the boy's face then and he began shaking so much the chains rattled.

"Oh yes Mr. Weasley" Severus grinned a toothy grin at the boy in front of him. "Seeing as you favour physical violence so much, We're going to do this the  _muggle_  way, it's much more _hands on_ you see"

* * *

Lucius walked out of the room and returned pushing a wheeled medical trolley , full of various surgical and other tools.

It was pure theatrics of course, the small tray could've easily been carried in one hand, but it was so much more fun to watch the boy's eye's focus on the trolley as it was wheeled towards him. Severus had even loosened the wheels so they'd rattle and squeak ominously when the trolley was pushed, just to ramp up the boys anxiety.

He could tell it worked when the smell that met his nose meant that the boy had vacated his bowels in his trousers on the appearance of said trolley, and he couldn't help but smile knowingly at Lucius.

"Where to begin... oh that's right"

He ripped the tape from the boy's mouth , taking delight in the pained scream that it elicited.

Panting the boy levelled a shaky glare at him .

"F-fuck you Snape"

Severus chuckled darkly. "Is that an proposition already boy? I thought you'd save that for later "

The boy couldn't have gone whiter if he'd tried.

"Fortunately for you , I'm in a very happy _monogamous_  relationship" Severus drawled.

The relief on his face was short lived though when Lucius piped in.

"I have no such limitations in my marriage. In fact I'm sure Narcissa would love to see the penseive of  _that_  event."

Severus chuckled once more , at Lucius's vicious grin and the boy's abject horror.

"Alas , we're getting ahead of ourselves."

With reflexes honed from years of duelling , Severus had grabbed a scalpel from the tray and slammed the boys wand hand into the wall, with the scalpel brandished at the knuckle of his ring finger, where he wore a Quidditch signet ring of the Chudley Cannons.

"Amazing to me, that you pawn your wedding ring , something symbolic of  _the only good thing_  you ever had in your life, and yet you keep this piece of cereal box trash. Little compensation prize was it ? Couldn't buy your way onto the team , but they gave you a pretty bauble for all of that  _stolen_  money you gave them?"

The boy's eyes were fixated on the scalpel in Severus's hands.

"Funnily enough it may become a collectors piece one day Severus, now that the team has been disbanded"

That was enough to make Ron's eye's snap from the scalpel to Lucius.

"What are you talking about ?"

"You think the Games Commission would just carry on allowing that team to keep playing once they found out they were taking bribes, and stolen order of Merlin money at that? "

He was shaking his head in denial , as Lucius laughed.

"As of this morning the Chudley Cannons cease to exist , they are no more, the team has been liquidised and all the players are facing lifetime bans for game fixing and bet hedging"

The boy was more devastated at the news of his beloved quidditch team than, he was of the scalpel still held poised at his finger.

"Pity" Severus shrugged "Back to the point anyway"

Panicked blue eyes suddenly remembered his precarious position.

"My wife has a scar. A scar from where someone punched her hard enough to break the skin"

Severus slammed the boy's hand into the wall , and pressed the scalpel against the joint of the ring finger where it met the hand.

"A scar that matches this ring. So I'm going to start by  _taking_  it "

"You're going to...you can't to cut off my finger!" The boy panicked , sweat beading on his forehead.

"Oh no Mr. Weasley...I'm going to take  _your ring_  , and by the time I'm done with that you're going to be  _begging_  me to cut off your finger"

* * *

Severus had been right of course.

He hadn't even got the ring off the boys finger , only a few inches of skin before he was begging him to cut it off.

But Severus was if anything, thorough.

So he went through the whole process of removing the skin, the muscles and finally the and ligaments, until it was only the fingers bones, attached by tendons and poking grotesquely out of the hand like some muggle movie special fx.

Eye's rolling in the back of his head, the boy had vomited more than once and was gasping for breath and shaking , but it was the wide eyed comprehension that made Severus smile gleefully.

"I see you've discovered another perk of the wards of the room Mr. Weasley ? No matter what I can do to you , you will not pass out nor will the wards allow me to inflect a deadly wound."

He began openly sobbing as Severus's words sunk in.

"That's right Mr. Weasley . As long as you're in this room , you'll not pass out and you'll not die , instead you'll remain here in a permanent stasis, awake and  _feeling_  everything , until we decide we've had enough."

* * *

Neither Severus or Lucius had the intention of dragging this on past tonight.

Both had families to go home to , and wanted to get this business dealt with before it soiled their memory of Christmas eve.

They didn't tell the boy that though.

Let him think that he's going to be in the torture room for days, weeks, years until they get bored of him.

Let him suffer , as he dwells on it, let it  _break_  him.

* * *

Remembering the abuse the boy had heaped on the woman Severus loved , he made sure that the boy's punishments were fitting.

Not only did he enjoy kicking and punching the boy black and blue , he also got very inventive when he remembered the practically starved frame of the girl who'd arrived at his home. Hating her body and denying herself food, because of the ridicule from this boy .

So Severus hexed him with a dark curse. One that made the boy feel as though he was quite literally starving to death.

And as the boy screamed and howled out in agony and distress , he decided to show mercy. He untied the chains long enough for the now sobbing boy to start scooping up handfuls of his own waste as the curse inflicted hunger pains practically crippled him.

He only released the spell when a dry retching Lucius slapped him up the back of the head.

"For fucks sake Severus can you not? I do not wish to revisit my lunch"

It was worth it though when he released the spell to see the boys look of horror as he found himself with handfulls of his own waste and retching on the floor at his actions.

* * *

Despite Lucius and Severus's taunting earlier, Lucius had not intention of fucking the boy.

He wasn't against a bit of sodomy and debauchery now and again , it was just that he found the boy so distasteful he doubted he could muster up the ability to perform.

It was no bother though, as Severus had taken to the muggle internet like a duck to water, and it was quite easy to find a man on the "Dark web" willing to drive to meet them for the purpose, despite the very dubious circumstances.

Severus had never been a fan of rape, despite being surrounded by it at revels. It was something he found particularly loathsome , and could not stomach the thought of forcing someone sexually against their will.

But the memories of Hermione's had haunted him , especially when the boy had sodomised her by force on the day she thought she was miscarrying. He shuddered in revulsion as he remembered her tearful admission to the doctor of lying in a pool of blood, repairing her ruptured colon.

So it was with that in mind that he shelved his loathing of the act, when the muggle arrived right on time.

Severus banished the filth off the boy , who'd almost looked relieved , until he saw the muggle man walk into the room.

"Ah yes , Our friend here has arrived to fulfil the little proposition you made earlier...what was it again ? Ah yes 'Fuck you snape'..."

The muggle man grinned at the bound boy and cracked his neck.

Severus smiled.

"I think you'll find, it's fuck you weasley."

Severus and Lucius stepped out of the room, shutting the door adn leaving the boy with the muggle as they both lit up a cigarrette.

"Something's missing" Severus drawled.

With a flick Lucius dropped the sound dampening charm around the room , and the boy's pain filled howls suddenly filled the air.

"Ah yes, much better"

* * *

The muggle had walked out very pleased with himself, at least until the two deatheaters hexed him.

They wiped his memory of the events, along with adding a strong compulsion curse that would make him suddenly physically ill at the thought of assaulting someone, along with a strong compulsion to turn himself into the police and pass over the details of any other sex offenders he knew in person or through the internet.

They took in the quietly weeping boy , and realised their time was getting to an end.

Both of them were keen to be home before midnight.

"Well Mr. Weasley , I'm afraid it is time for us to part ways "

A look of relief spread over his face.

"You're going to kill me"

Lucius and Severus laughed darkly at that.

"My dear boy , who said anything about killing you ?" Lucius smiled.

"I've no intention of killing you boy , no it's time that you were turned over to the auror's to stand trial for your crimes"

"But..." The boy stammered in shock as he stared at the two of them.

"Oh and speaking of  _parting ways_ "

A flick of his wrist and a well aimed sectumsempra , and the boy was suddenly screaming in a slightly higher pitch.

"Well, you'll have no use for them in Azkaban" Severus intoned

Lucius flicked his wand with a sneer and vanished the severed parts. "Hardly enough to be worth the effort"

A quick Vulnera Sedenteur made the boy heal instantly , sans the vanished parts, as Severus chuckled.

"He's as anatomically correct as a Ken Doll"

Lucius arched his brow and gave him a questioning look and Severus waved him off, rather than get into a discussion of the anatomy (or lack there of ) of muggle plastic dolls with the pureblood wizard.

Mind magic was something Severus was extremely skilled at , as a Legillimens, so he placed a strong mental block in the boy's mind.

He would remember everything that happened to him , but no other witch or wizard would ever be able to see the memory, nor would he be able to write their names or implicate them in any way.

As far as any other people were concerned they'd see a blank wall in his mind, conclusive with a strong confundus and obliviation. They'd also feel the compulsion to stop looking any further. It was brilliant, if he did say so himself.

* * *

 

Lucius Malfoy returned to Malfoy Manor , just as his son walked through the door , still wearing the face of Severus Snape.

The polyjuice wore off as he saw his son's skin ripple and move until it metled into the boy's own visage.

"Severus Snape has spent the entire night discussing business matters at Gringotts. He was seen entering and leaving the building by numerous people, as well as doing various other tasks in Diagon Alley this night. The Goblins will confirm without doubt that it was indeed _the_  Severus Snape."

"Excellent" Lucius intoned , as Draco altered the clothes he wore back into his own.

"Though I do wish that you would have let me help you, Granger's my best friend"

"Your sentiments are appreciated , but Severus did not go through what he did for you to taint your soul now , now take this"

He threw an apple at Draco.

"Severus imbued it with the memory charm , you'll retain your memory but if anyone else looks you spent the night here with the your mother and I , that's what you get for not learning how to occlude properly like us"

With a cheeky grin, the blond took a large bite out of the preoffered apple.

"Delicious".

* * *

 

That night Severus Snape returned home and went straight into the shower, feeling the action as it cleansed him inside and out of the days events.

When he was finished her tucked himself into bed behind his wife , dropping a kiss on her shoulder as he cupped her heavy belly.

He looked at the clock and smiled as it just ticked over to midnight , as he felt the days actions lift from him as the new day dawned.

"It's Christmas Eve, I love you both so much"

A sleepy arm was thrown over his , as Hermione shuffled back further into his embrace.

"We love you too" 

He closed his eyes and slept , basking in the warmth of his family that he held in his arms.

* * *

_**"CHRISTMAS EVE SPECIAL - RONALD WEASLEY FOUND AND SENTENCED** **!"** _

_The boy was found by Aurors who were following a lead and tracked the boy to where he was wandering in Diagon Alley under a strong confundus charm._

_It's believed the wife beater was a victim of Vigillante justice, after his horrendous treatment of war hero ex wife Hermione Snape, nee Granger._

_He is reported to have been found with grievous injuries , and no recollection of who gave them to him._

_Many are saying the violent abuser got what he deserved , as two more witches have come forward in the class action lawsuit against the disgraced ex-auror._

_The MLE says they will spare no mercy on the boy that has disgraced the auror office , and shall be throwing the book at him as far as charges are concerned, stating they have a zero tolerance policy for rogue aurors._

_With charges from the gaming commission, gringotts , the auror office and the criminal convinction from the wizegamot , Ronald Weasly is looking at life without parole in azkaban._

_The auror office were praised for their quick actions in apprehending the dangerous criminal._

* * *

**Torture scenes inspired from various places, including game of thrones to name but one.**

**Severus may have said some very crude things about Hermione in a sense, but only to wind Ron up.**

**Cookie's for anyone who catches the Alan Rickman film quote.**


	20. Chapter 20

On Christmas eve they'd arranged for a number of people to come around for a short lunch at Spinner's end.

It was only going to be a couple of hours, but Severus was encouraging her to rebuild her bridges with people , now she was out from under the shadow of Ronald.

Minerva was going to be there and they were going to talk more about the arithmancy position , along with Draco, Luna and Neville and to his surprise she'd invited Viktor Krum , who she'd remained friends with.

He tried not to be jealous at that.

Lucius and Narcissa weren't attending , because they had plans to spend boxing day with them at Malfoy manor.

She'd cooked all the party food of course , as he was still absolutely helpless when it came to food, other than eating it of course.

He'd gotten very good at eating it , since she started cooking for him and he wondered if she'd noticed that he'd gone up a notch on his belt.

When the morning paper came she'd cried in relief , and held him tightly. When he went to stand she placed a kiss on his cheek , and whispered in his ear.

"Thank You."

He simply smirked at her and asked , "Whatever for ?"

* * *

The lunch had gone really well. It was the first time he'd ever hosted a 'party' or 'gathering' and he couldn't help but be a little amazed at how well everyone seemed to accept him, not just as himself but also as Hermione's partner.

He'd been a bit wary of spending the day surrounded by  _her_  friends, though it was he who'd suggested it , though he was taken by complete surprise when all the guests after hugging her , greeted him just as warmly.

Draco hugged him , Neville shook his hand, and Luna an Minerva kissed his cheek. Which caused him to fight a blush. Even the Bulgarian Krum bowed to him and with a warm smile , which made it difficult to hate him.

However when he walked in the room and shouted "Her my oh ninny" Hermione squealed when she saw him and kissed his cheek , and started to converse in rapid Bulgarian with him, the jealousy rose it's ugly head.

She grabbed Krum by the hand dragged him over to Draco, who's eyes had lit up at the sight of the quidditch star and properly introduced the pair of them, leaving them to 'get to know each other' in her words as she came over to him.

When Hermione came to stand by him and kissed his cheek , he pulled her into his side and kissed her hair.

"I have to admit a certain amount of jealousy when you invited your Bulgarian here..." He admitted softly.

She snorted then and he glared at her , until she spoke. "The first thing Viktor said to me when I told him I was with you , was 'Good , because it's a shame that fine arse was going unappreciated "

He felt his face heat up when she said that , as she chuckled by his side and snuck a hand behind his back and squeezed his arse."To be fair,  _it is_  a very nice arse"

He scowled at her, face still flaming, and she laughed pressing her face into his ribs.

Then her words clicked in his head.

"So Mr Krum...?"

"Doesn't just like to play with quidditch balls?" She asked with a wink and he chuckled.

"Indeed" he murmured

She smiled when cub kicked and he placed his hand on her belly.

"I think him and Draco will really get along "

" _I'll bet_  " He said dryly , looking at the two boys who were doing very little to hide the bedroom eyes they were giving each other.

And she laughed brightly.

* * *

The day was a success , even if Draco andKrum left early.

"What do you want to bet he's going to show him his broom" He whispered in her ear when the two made a hasty departure.

"Hell  _Yeah_  he is " she snorted.

But in all seriousness, they were both happy for the two.

The Bulgarians were a lot more laid back about that sort of thing. Not to be said they'd be thrown any parades any time soon, but they wouldn't get the negative reception Draco received from the wizarding community in England.

"I hope they work out , I think they could make each other happy" She said softly.

"As do I , he deserves some happiness"

* * *

Hermione spent a lot of time talking with Minerva and Luna , and Severus was surprised to find himself having very amicable conversation with Longbottom.

The boy truly had grown up , and was an absolutely formidable Herbologist , even Severus could admit.

They parted on a handshake and with a new business proposal , whereby Neville got the best quality potions when he needed them , and Severus got the best quality plants , including some plans to test out some hybrids for specific potions.

All in all , as they waved off their guests , Severus found that much to his suprise he'd actually enjoyed the day.

Surrounded by what he now realised was not her friends, but their friends.

* * *

Christmas day was spent together, mostly in bed until Severus had to quickly apparate and grab Matthias when they thought she was going into labour a week early.

Fortunately in turned out to be more Braxton Hicks , which just felt more severe because Cub had engaged that night.

"Not long now mum , you're baby's head's down and engaged so it shouldn't be too long"

They'd thanked Matthias and apologised for disturbing his Christmas, but all in all with Severus apparating him ,they hadn't taken him away for more than an hour.

It was the first time Severus could remember having a proper Christmas dinner at home.

He couldn't put into words the way he felt.

As they sat that night, having eaten , drank and exchanged gifts... he couldn't help the emotions that overhwelmed him.

They were sat together on the sofa. Or he was sat and Hermione was laid on her side , with her head in his lap.

The fire was burning, and they had a blanket thrown over them, it was tartan and very christmassy looking in both gryffindor red and slytherin green.

A present from Minerva.

They'd been simply reading by the firelight , and the fairy lights from the Christmas tree.

It didn't take long for Hermione to fall asleep, and he heard the soft thud as her book fell to the floor.

He placed his book down gently, and took in the sight of his beautiful wife.

She was laid so trustingly with her head in his lap , and the christmas lights danced over her skin.

Her breathing was soft and regular as she slept deeply, and she smelled of cloves, cinnamon and other christmassy spices.

She had a hand fisted in the blanket Minerva had brought them , and the other rested under her belly.

He ran a hand through her hair , and then gently down to cub when the baby stirred.

"Shhh don't wake your mother little one" He whispered as he stroked her round belly , and the baby calmed within.

He couldn't wait to hold them both in his arms, couldn't wait to meet this little person.

As he held Hermione and ran hands through her hair , he couldn't ever remember being as happy as he was in that moment.

And he was surprised when he felt the moisture running down his face.

Closing his eyes , he slept.

For he had everything he would ever need , right here in his arms.


	21. Chapter 21

**And we've nearly reached the end of our journey , I hope you all liked it , thank you for sticking with me , the next chapter will be the last one**

* * *

Hermione was tired.

_Very tired._

Severus was worried.

It was the 5th of January , and Hermione was already about 4 days passed her due date , which had led to no small amounts of emotional outbursts from her, whilst he could only look on in sympathy and try to offer what little comfort he could.

Her tiredness wasn't helped by the fact that she'd insisted on redecorating the other rooms in the house.

Originally they'd just done their bedroom, bathroom and Cub's room and had then agreed to leave the rest until after cub was born.

But that had changed at New Years , when Severus woke up at 6am to Hermione moving furniture in the living room so she could rip up the old carpet.

He shrugged the behaviour off, as to be fair she wasn't sleeping very well now cub was carrying so low, even on her side with the special cushion he'd bought her propping up her stomach.  
And in all fairness the carpet in the living room  _was_  terrible so it wasn't anything too out of the ordinary.

But when she began to forgo all other aspects of her life , reading , studying etc.. Even the amount of intimacy they shared. Oh she still jumped on him at least once a day, but he was no longer being dragged out of his lab in the middle of the day.

Now she would simply focus on stripping each room in turn , and tearfully insisting that they really must go and replace that furniture right  _now._

He called in the expert.

Flooing to Malfoy Manor he'd spoken to Narcissa to share his worries, and the woman had the audacity to  _laugh_  at him.

"Honestly Cissy, I'm worried! She's always been a very tidy person , but she's become a total harridan, I swear she'd put me in a bib if she could whilst I am eating my toast ! I could eat my dinner off the bathroom floor, and I'd bet my eye teeth that I could drag out any piece of furniture and it'd be spotless behind it , I don't know what's gotten into her"

"She's nesting Severus " The woman had said with a chuckle, as if that answered everything.

"She's not a bloody bird Cissy" He scowled at the woman

"No you great fool , when women are in their late stages of pregnancy they feel this urge to clean and tidy and organise , they get this instinct to have everything ready for the upcoming birth, preparing their nest so to speak"

"So...what does it mean ?" He asked cautiously.

"Severus... It means the baby's coming"

Suddenly he paled and dropped into his seat heavily , the wind gone from him.

Narcissa questioned him cautiously "Severus? She's over her due date already , surely you realised the baby would be here any time ?"

Swallowing a lump in his throat he turned to his friend.

"Yes. I mean logically yes, I knew but...the baby...a baby, everything needs to be clean and prepared and we're not even remotely ready...I have to go"

He practically ran to the floo.

Narcissa chuckled, knowing full well what the pair were going through.

And remembering her own obsession, she was pretty sure she redid every room in the manor which was a fairly impressive feat.  
Lucius had put his foot down when she'd wanted to go do the summer houses as well though.

**oOo**

He'd burst out of the floo and found Hermione, making sure to vanish any traces of floo powder or ash when he stepped through.

She was reorganising the kitchen cupboards.

He ran into the kitchen and skidded to a halt on the newly polished floor, painfully banging his hip on the counter in the process.

"The baby's coming" He said urgently when he met her , hissing as he massaged his bruised hip.

"What?" She asked in shock, momentarily grabbing her stomach as though he'd sensed her labour even before she had.

"The baby. the baby is going to be here soon and we're not ready!"

"I know right!" She said tearfully "This is what I've been trying to make you understand!"

"But things need to be cleaned and organised! we have corners! and stairs!...what if our wards fail the baby could fall!"

"Exactly ! And we can't paint the rooms when the baby's born ,think of the paint fumes!"

"Oh gods."

Neither were able to think clearly enough to remember that the baby would not be mobile for a long time yet, so baby proofing wasn't urgent and that they were easily capable of casting air cleansing and filtration charms if they did paint a room after cub was born.

**oOo**

The next couple of days were a blur , as Hermione continued to make the house surgically clean whilst Severus became  _obsessed_  with baby proofing.

Every child safety ward he could think of was applied onto the house, along with muggle devices added to every plug socket and corner.

There was one almost disaster though when a screaming Hermione almost hexed him , for baby proofing the toilet seat and forgetting to tell her the counter spell to access it.

Luckily too exhausted to hex him , she'd thrown a bar of soap at him (the only thing within reach) , quickly followed by shampoo bottles and other small items.

"For Christ's sake Severus ! When you have a woman who has a fucking baby using her bladder as a goddamn squeeze toy YOU DO NOT CHARM THE FUCKING TOILET SEAT SHUT!"

He almost marvelled at the amount of creative profanity she used, she'd never been one to swear until the past week or so when her nerves were frayed.

Instead he ducked the flying loo roll and released the charm on the toilet seat.

**oOo**

She woke him up with her sobs on the 8th, she was so emotionally overwrought, tired and fed up now. Almost 10 days passed her due day.

Her stomach was large and heavy, looking even larger on her small frame, and the stretch marks were really upsetting her.

Hermione had never been a vain girl, but the boy had done a number on her self esteem and Severus wanted to hex him all over again whenever she'd get upset about her looks. Instead he'd just sooth her , reassure her that he still found her attractive no matter what , and massage the oils into her stomach for her as she could no longer reach all of it.

They'd spoken to Matthias and she'd been scheduled for a C-Section if she didn't start labour by the 11th , which was upsetting her even more.

"Cub's not even born yet Severus and I'm already failing as a mother. Humans have been giving birth for thousands of years, it's something so basic and natural and I can't even do that "

He did his best to convince her that it was nothing she could help, but there was little he could say to sooth her.

She was more distressed that night when she went to bed, it was his birthday tomorrow and she was too tired to travel to Malfoy Manor as they'd planned so Severus had to floo them that they were cancelling.

"I'm a horrible wife. a horrible wife and a horrible mother" She'd wept into his arms, and he'd pulled her into a hug.

"You are neither of those things"

"I ruined everything, and now I'm ruining your birthday, we should be celebrating with your friends and instead you're going to be cooped up at home running around after me as I'm too fat to do anything for myself"

She looked so done in.

She was wearing his old Slytherin jumper, her hair was a mess , she was tired and needed a shower which she'd been putting off as it was too hard for her to stand in the shower and too uncomfortable to get in the bath.

Her tears left tracks down on her face and her nose was running, which she had kept wiping on the sleeve of her jumper as she'd already gone through all the tissue in the house.

She looked miserable and pathetic.

There was nothing else he could do.

He laughed.

It started off as a small chuckle, but when she levelled a glare at him that would frighten off a hippogriff he couldn't hold back and began laughing properly.

She quirked her lip

"Don't"

He only laughed harder then and shook her head at herself as she finally joined him in laughter.

The two of them sat on the bed laughing hysterically until he pulled her into his arms.

"Oh my love, everything will be alright"

**oOo**

He was having the most arousing dream.

He was in the bath, dripping wet, Hermione was riding him he felt himself getting closer and closer to release.

_Severus_

_Gods yes Hermione ride me_

_Severus_

_Fuck so good, you feel so good._

"SEVERUS!"

He shot awake as she turned the lights on in the room, he thought for a moment he'd had a wet dream but when he threw the covers off himself he took in the clock. 12:05, then the state of the bed with dismay.

Hermione was laid beside him in a large wet patch looking strained.

"Severus it's now" She panted .

"Now ?!"

"Now Severus, it's now!"

"Oh bollocks"

He jumped out of bed managing to smack his toe on the bed post and his knee on the drawers, with a growl he grabbed their overnight bag and grabbed Hermione into his arms.

"ugh Severus?" Hermione was looking at him with vague amusement despite the fact that her face was scrunched up in pain

"What's wrong ?" he was worried he'd forgotten something important.

Her eyes flicked to his, down his body and back up again.

Following her gaze he noticed the problem.

He was still wearing his nightclothes.

Which was a pair of black boxers and nothing else.

A pair of still tented black boxers.

Her strained face met his "As much as I appreciate the view love, I don't want to share it"

Blushing he quickly put her down as he struggled into some clothes.

He dropped his shirt though and promptly fell to his knees when she cried out and hunched over.

"Hermione!?" She had her hands on her belly and he put his there too.

_Gods her stomach is rock hard_

"Contractions" She managed to squeeze out through clenched teeth.

Faster than he could remember dressing, he'd shoved a black shirt on and was carrying her to the floo.

She'd wanted to have a muggle birth, like her mother had, so they were going to the hospital Matthias worked at but Draco had St. Mungo's on standby incase of complications.

"Severus" Her watery eyes met his as they reached the fireplace "It's happening"

"I love you...We're having a baby" He said softly , awe in his voice as he quickly kissed her.

She broke the kiss with a groan.

"Severus...we're having a baby  _right now_  let's not do it in the living room on the new carpet please"

"Right...we're going"

**oOo**

The Malfoys, Minerva, Longbottom and Lovegood met them at the hospital.

As they were being taken into the delivery suite Lovegood had wished him a happy birthday and once again assured him he would be a good father, and not to take any threats to his manhood to heart.

Just an hour after they arrived at the hospital Hermione had progressed to 10cm and was being instructed to push.

"My my looks like your baby is ready to get this show on the road ! They were just waiting for the right time it seems!"

She was laid in the hospital bed screaming and crying , and Severus was at a loss as to what to do , fluttering around like an imbecile not quite sure where to put himself.

"She's crowing Dad, do you want to come feel this ?" the midwife smiled at him , taking both his awkwardness and Hermione's insults in her stride.

In awe he allowed the midwife to guide his hand to feel the baby's head.

"I can feel cub Hermione , you're doing so well and the baby already has your mane of curls I can feel it!"

It wasn't tears in his eyes he was certain, it was just sweat from his forehead.

"God's Severus I don't think I can do this" She cried, body shaking and he pulled her into his arms as much as he could.

"Yes you can, you're so brave Hermione , so brave my lioness you can do this , it's high time we met our cub"

With a scream worthy of any mandrake she lurched forward , and he held her leg the way the midwife had instructed giving her something to push against.

Suddenly a cry rent the air that was not from his wife.

"Congratulations mum and dad it's a boy" The midwife passed the baby to the nurse to clean him up.

"A boy?" Hermione asked breathlessly as tears traced down her cheeks.

"Do you want to cut the cord dad?"

With shaking hands he cut the cord as instructed by the nurse, then kept a close eye on her as she went to clean the baby up and wrap him in a blanket.

Hermione fell back against the bed with a wince, as the midwife delivered the afterbirth.

Severus kissed her forehead , whispering awe filled praise.

"Here you go mum" The midwife said as she passed the fussing wrapped bundle on Hermione's chest. "He's going to be a tall one , 8.5 pounds and 24 inches long , he's the tallest we've had here , but that's no surprise I guess" She smiled at Severus, all 6ft 3 of him as she said that

"We'll leave you three to it"

Then it was just them

**oOo**

Hermione gasped as she took in her son's face and then began to sob.

"Oh gods Severus, look at him...look at your son"

carefully passing the bundle over to him , he took the baby in trembling arms.

He remembered being told that babies can't see when they are first born.

That they don't recognise facial expressions or anything like that.

So he was taken completely by surprise when the bundle in his arms looked at him... for the first time and the little boy smiled.

A cheeky little smile.

And Severus wept.

Wept harsh wracking sobs as he held the precious bundle closer to him.

Wept for the feel of his son in his arms.

His son, already tall like his father.

His son, with a mane of impossible honey curls just like his mother, that girls were no doubt going to swoon over as he got older.

His _son._

His son...with a little pair of black eyes, looking up in wonder as they met their match.


	22. Chapter 22

_Severus wept._

_Wept harsh wracking sobs as he held the precious bundle closer to him._

_Wept for the feel of his son in his arms._

_His son, already tall like his father._

_His son, with a mane of impossible honey curls just like his mother, that girls were no doubt going to swoon over as he got older._

_His son._

_His son...with a little pair of black eyes looking up in wonder as they met their match._

* * *

"It's impossible" Draco whispered as he looked at the deep onyx eyes of the boy cradled in Minerva's arms.

"Och he's such a little bonny wee laddy" The boy smiled again at Minerva's words "Look at that golden mane ooh he's a lion cub for certain" Severus was hovering behind her scowling, to ensure she didn't accidentally break his son.

"Blood Magic Adoptions are not impossible, just improbable. You have to have all four elements covered of course" Luna paused in her description to wave at the small boy who grinned cheekily back at her. "It is rare for it to happen before the baby's born though"

Hermione and Severus snapped their attention to the elfin girl.

"Blood Magic Adoption?" Hermione asked "Four elements?" Severus queried.

"Yes." Luna said simply, as though she was explaining what she'd had for breakfast this morning.

"Blood magic adoptions, it's a form of mother's magic...not because it's anything to do with the mother of course, though it's usually a mother adopting an abandoned baby and not a father, but because it's inherent and elemental."

"Mother's magic! Of course!" Minerva exclaimed "That explains your beautiful little eyes doesn't it my bonny lad? You chose well my boy"

"You said something about four elements?" Severus questioned, as he looked at the girl like he'd greatly underestimated her.

"It requires an offering of Blood, Sex, Magic and Intent...and the baby has to want it as-well, it's not something that can be forced"

With a start both Severus and Hermione locked their eyes as they remembered the first time they'd made love.

oOo

_"You're both mine...say it!" He groaned._

_He practically saw her pleasure peaking at his possessive words , as she screamed her responce in the affirmative as she crested around him._

_"YOURS! ...Severus we're...yours...oh...oh...oh!...yes...I think...I think...I'm...SEVERUS!"_

_" **MINE**!" He growled as she clenched around him in  **orgasm** , She mewled and he kissed her so hard he drew  **blood,**  though we wasn't sure whose. He grabbed her hips and held her flush to him, causing her to shudder around him as he felt himself cresting and cumming, primal male instinct telling him to keep shooting his essence as deep inside of her as he could, as he simultaneously pushed his  **magic**  through his palm on her belly as he had so many times before._

oOo

"So he's mine...he's really mine?"

Severus had taken the boy back into his arms, and dropped heavily onto the bed besides Hermione, passing their son to him so she could nurse him.

"Yep. You wanted it, he wanted it and your magic agreed. I'd bet you could even have one of those muggle BMA tests and it would come up a match"

"DNA" Hermione said softly as she gazed at her newborn son.

Severus was once more fighting the tears in his eyes, not wanting to be seen crying in front of all of his friends, so he dropped his chin to his chest allowing his hair to block his face.

"I think we should leave the doting parents to themselves for now" Narcissa added, pointedly steering the others out of the room.

"Congratulations, I hope he gets your nose , I always thought it makes you look very regal"

Longbottom paled and dragged Luna out at that as Hermione softly chuckled at Severus's scowl at the retreating pair.

"I bloody hope not" He growled. "One Snape with this nose is bad enough"

"I happen to like your nose" Hermione said with a giggle, as she kissed said appendage.

The boy in her arms giggled and kicked his legs out at their antics.

"Do not get any ideas" Severus growled at the boy who only smiled even more.

* * *

**Epilogue**

In the tradition of the Prince family, their son was given a Greek name, just like his father and maternal grandfather before him.

Leonidas, or Leo for short with his long mane of golden curls really was their little lion cub.

Leo did get Severus's nose, much to his chagrin, though at least he only got the shape and not the size.

His aquiline features and golden mane, plus growing up with the love of two good parents meant that it was not a shy, sickly and scrawny boy that arrived a Hogwarts, but a vastly intelligent yet carefree and affectionate boy, with a famously cheeky grin , who made friends easily in all four houses.

As he grew older and more into his aquiline features, he was known as the Greek God of Gryffindor. Especially considering that he already towered above his mother as a fourth year student, He also did little to derail the nickname, and in fact famously adhered it to himself when he turned up to a Halloween ball in a toga.

His sister Helena however, a year younger, could not be more different.

She was petite with features like her mother, the only thing she got from her father was long silky black locks. That and unlike her brother who arrived with a cheeky grin, she came into the world sporting Severus's famous scowl and spent most of her infancy wearing it, if things did not go her way.

Which was not very often, as like his son before her, his perfect daughter could do no wrong and Severus absolutely doted on the girl's every whim.

Though Hermione drew the line when he wanted to buy the girl a unicorn foal.

It was no surprise to anyone when the precocious girl was sorted Slytherin,  hugely ambitious, amazingly cunning and a rapier wit and caustic tongue, she really was her father's daughter.

Hermione got her arithmancy mastery, and the teaching job at Hogwarts. There was never anything to be said about unfairness though, as she had no trouble docking house points from either of her children.

Severus played the stay at home dad, and did it impeccably.

Producing two happy and well balanced children, with unique personalities, that didn't suffer the problems either of their parents had in their own school days.

Severus finally stopped brewing for the hospital, when Helena went on to become the head potioneer for St. Mungos.

And Leo was the youngest ever teacher, after his father to take on a teaching position at Hogwarts.

There was finally a Snape teaching defence against the dark arts.

Permanently.

oOo

As he held his wife to him, in the house that was now empty of their children for the first time in 21 years he smiled at her and quirked an eyebrow.

"It's just us wife"

She returned his eyebrow with one of her own, and raised him a cheeky grin.

His wife stepped backwards away from him and towards the stairs , shedding clothes as she went.

And he grinned wickedly as he stalked her.

"Run little rabbit" Her growled 

She shrieked in laughter and shot up the stairs, and he growled as he gave chase.

Thanking Merlin, Morgana and Nimune for bringing this woman into his life.

For Severus Snape was Happy.

Truly, irrevocably and unashamedly Happy.

* * *

**That's it folks**

**Thank you for sticking with me, please comment and let me know what you think.**

**If you've just joined us now that the story is complete, please drop me a review and let me know what you thought!**


	23. AUTHORS NOTE

Thanks for all your lovely comments  
This is the end of signs but I will eventually post some short one shots part of this ‘verse , (including some dracoxkrum as some have requested both here and on FFNET) so keep an eye on my fics

Love Emms x

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave a short comment or review .
> 
> All feedback is appreciated


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